Five retired MLB umpires sue benefit plan over underpaid benefits

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 5 Nov, 22:10 · Archive

Five retired Major League Baseball umpires have sued their retirement plan, claiming they are owed more than $2 million in incorrectly calculated benefits.

Five retired umpires have sued the retirement plan from their work in Major League Baseball, alleging their benefits were not correctly calculated. Joe West, Tom Hallion, Gerry Davis, Larry Vanover and Jerry Layne filed the lawsuit on 29 September in federal court in New York. Their lawyer, Paul B. Holmes, says the amount owed the five is in excess of $2 million.

West said that when he brought up the issue to the retirement committee, he was offered a relatively small sum. He said MLB senior vice president and chief employment counsel Steven Gonzalez told him: 'If you don't like the number, sue us.' West responded: 'Does Steve Gonzalez not know my history with dealing with lawsuits?' The umpires claim they are entitled to additional money under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Holmes said: 'In some of the issues you could argue it both ways, but in a couple of the issues it was pretty clear that they were just shorting the umpires.' West retired after the 2021 season following a record 5,460 regular-season games. Davis, Hallion, Layne and Vanover retired after 2021, 2022, end of 2024 and end of 2024 respectively. MLB declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit.

How it is being reported

• 5 retired MLB umpires — including Joe West — sue benefit plan, alleging they are owed more moneyFive retired umpires have sued their retirement plan and its committee, claiming they are owed additional money.News4Jax · 5 Nov, 21:15
• 5 retired MLB umpires — including Joe West — sue benefit plan, alleging they are owed more moneyFive retired umpires have sued their retirement plan and its committee, claiming they are owed additional money.Clickorlando · 5 Nov, 21:15

In this story: Joe West · Tom Hallion · Gerry Davis · Larry Vanover · Jerry Layne · Major League Baseball · Paul B. Holmes

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log