Barlow v. Roche (Lewis), supra, and 2 Scott, Trusts, §§ 198, 198.1 (1956). There is also a diversity of opinion among the courts as to the amount of judicial review available in cases similar to this one. Certainly, the furtherest the courts have gone in establishing the extent of judicial review is that expressed by the court in Kennet v. United Mineworkers, etc., 1960, 183 F. Supp. 315, 318: Compare Hobbs v. Lewis, supra, and Kennet v. United Mineworkers of America, D.C.D.C. 1960, 183 F. Supp. 315 with Ruth v. Lewis, supra.
"It thus becomes unnecessary to discuss the defense of the statute of limitations, also raised as a defense because the payment of a pension is a continuing obligation and no back payments before institution of suit are included in the findings herein, for the reasons stated." In Kennet v. United Mine Workers, D.C. 1960, 183 F. Supp. 315, (Holtzoff, J.), the Court adopted the contractual view. The Court there, feeling that the right to a pension when the eligibility requirements are met is part of the compensation of a coal worker, stated that the employee has a right to enforce the contract as a third-party beneficiary.
A minority of state courts have viewed the matter under trust law and therefore denied jury trials. See e.g., Kennet v. UnitedMineworkers, 183 F. Supp. 315, 316 (D.D.C. 1960) (tried without jury; retiree suing for benefit termination from multi-employer plan); Ruth v. Lewis, 166 F. Supp. 346, 348 (D.D.C. 1958) (judge weighed evidence for former employee suing for pension benefit from multi-employer plan); Hobbs v. Lewis, 159 F. Supp. 282, 284 (D.D.C. 1958) (same); Ex parte Garner, 280 Ala. 111, 190 So.2d 544, 546 (1966) (former employee sued trustee for benefit from profit-sharing plan; case transferred from law to equity; presumed non-jury trial as before Alabama required jury trial in equity); Barlow v. Roche, 161 A.2d 58, 63 (D.C. 1960) (tried in equity even though brought as action at law for monies due and owing under multi-employer health plan); Forrish v. Kennedy, 377 Pa. 370, 105 A.2d 67, 68 (1954) (employee sued trustees for retirement pension from multi-employer plan in equity). But see Dixon v. Northwestern Nat'l Bank ofMinneapolis, 297 F. Supp. 485, 489 (D. Minn. 1969) (former employees' suit for vested benefit upon profit-sharing plan termin