ultrarunner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2001
- Posts
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How can you not respect these guys/girls! God bless 'em!
"A federal judge Monday tossed out a Continental Airlines lawsuit accusing nine pilots of getting sham divorces so their ex-spouses could collect the pilots' retirement benefits while they kept flying." That’s from The Associated Press, which reports that while the judge said he didn't necessarily condone the pilots' actions, the law did not allow him to rule in Continental’s favor.
The Houston Chronicle writes that "in Monday's decision, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ruled that regardless of the pilots' intentions, employers and pension plan administrators are not arbiters of the legitimacy of divorces." Miller granted the pilots' motion to dismiss the case. Continental officials say the company is considering an appeal.
As for the alleged sham, AP writes Continental "said it paid out between $10 million and $11 million in suspicious pension distributions. Some individual payments were as much as $900,000, according to court papers. The airline said some of the pilots concealed the divorces from children and friends, then remarried their spouses after getting the money."
The Chronicle adds this explanation: “In its lawsuit, Continental alleged that the pilots filed for divorce but continued to live with their spouses, and never mentioned the divorces to their children and friends. The federal law that governs employer-sponsored retirement plans allows pre-retirement payments to former spouses. Once divorced, the pilots' ex-spouses used this provision to collect lump-sum distributions of the pilots' pension plans, worth up to $900,000 per pilot. In its lawsuit, Continental called the divorces 'subterfuges or sham transactions.' "
"A federal judge Monday tossed out a Continental Airlines lawsuit accusing nine pilots of getting sham divorces so their ex-spouses could collect the pilots' retirement benefits while they kept flying." That’s from The Associated Press, which reports that while the judge said he didn't necessarily condone the pilots' actions, the law did not allow him to rule in Continental’s favor.
The Houston Chronicle writes that "in Monday's decision, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ruled that regardless of the pilots' intentions, employers and pension plan administrators are not arbiters of the legitimacy of divorces." Miller granted the pilots' motion to dismiss the case. Continental officials say the company is considering an appeal.
As for the alleged sham, AP writes Continental "said it paid out between $10 million and $11 million in suspicious pension distributions. Some individual payments were as much as $900,000, according to court papers. The airline said some of the pilots concealed the divorces from children and friends, then remarried their spouses after getting the money."
The Chronicle adds this explanation: “In its lawsuit, Continental alleged that the pilots filed for divorce but continued to live with their spouses, and never mentioned the divorces to their children and friends. The federal law that governs employer-sponsored retirement plans allows pre-retirement payments to former spouses. Once divorced, the pilots' ex-spouses used this provision to collect lump-sum distributions of the pilots' pension plans, worth up to $900,000 per pilot. In its lawsuit, Continental called the divorces 'subterfuges or sham transactions.' "
