420
Opinion of the Court
for payment and "demand payment" as "soon as practicable" after withdrawal. 29 U. S. C. § 1399(b)(1). It adds that "[w]ithdrawal liability shall be payable . . . no more than 60 days after the date of the demand." § 1399(c)(2).
Thus, a plan that calculates quickly might demand payment the day after withdrawal and make the charge "payable" within 60 days thereafter. A plan that calculates slowly might not be able to demand payment for many months after withdrawal. For example, in the case of the employer who withdraws on August 14, 1981, incurring a withdrawal charge of $23.3 million (calculated as of December 31, 1980), the lump sum of $23.3 million, or the first of the installment payments of roughly $4 million, will become "payable" to the plan "no later than 60 days" after the plan sent the withdrawing employer a demand letter. The day of the first payment may thus come as soon as within 60 days after August 15, 1981, or it may not come for many months thereafter, depending upon the plan's calculating speed.
C This Case
The facts of this case approximate those of our example. Three brewers, Schlitz, Pabst, and Miller, contributed for many years to a multiemployer pension plan (Plan). On August 14, 1981, Schlitz withdrew from the Plan. See App. 151-152. By the end of September 1981, the Plan completed its calculations, created a payment schedule, and sent out a demand for payment (thereby making the first installment payment "payable") "on or before November 1, 1981." Id., at 153, 154. From the outset, the parties agreed that the annual installment payment amounted to $3,945,481, and that the relevant interest rate was 7% per year. After various controversies led to arbitration and a court proceeding between Schlitz and the Plan, the courts and parties eventually determined that the withdrawal charge (calculated as of the
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007