Joe West and four other retired umpires filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball‘s retirement plan on Sept. 29, claiming the league shortchanged them on pension benefits they had already earned. West, Tom Hallion, Gerry Davis, Larry Vanover and Jerry Layne brought the 44-page complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, naming the American League and National League of Professional Baseball Clubs Retirement Income Plan for Umpires as the defendant, according to USA Today.
The five plaintiffs are seeking more than $2 million in total relief. Combined, they worked 21,063 regular-season games across 179 seasons, with West alone umpiring 5,460 games from 1976 to 2021, more than any umpire in major league history, according to ESPN.
What The Lawsuit Alleges
The complaint argues all five umpires were “paid far less than the full benefit earned under the Plan.” It points to a specific calculation error, describing a “failure to provide actuarial increases to plan benefit amounts when the commencement of plan benefits is deferred beyond the umpire’s normal retirement age.”
The suit also accuses MLB of structuring the plan to push umpires toward earlier retirement, stating “MLB was trying to hide the greater benefits under the 2005 Benefit Table after age 62 to encourage retirement at that age and to discourage umpires from continuing to work for MLB beyond age 62.” Attorney Paul Holmes said at least two dozen retired umpires were not provided the proper sum of money in their pension plan.
All five plaintiffs had at least 25 years of major-league service and retired after age 65. West and Davis stepped away following the 2021 season, Hallion retired after 2022, and Layne and Vanover finished their careers at the end of 2024, though all five retired after 2021 according to USA Today. West and Vanover took their pension benefits as lump-sum payments, while Davis, Hallion and Layne opted for annual payments.
Administrative Appeals And Prior Exchange
Before filing suit, the umpires went through an administrative appeals process after raising complaints that began in November 2021. Those appeals were denied. During an earlier exchange over the dispute, MLB senior vice president and chief employment counsel Steven Gonzalez told West, “If you don’t like the number, sue us.”
What’s Next
U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams has scheduled a pretrial conference for Dec. 11 in the Southern District of New York. The case will proceed through that hearing as the court takes up the umpires’ claims against the retirement plan.
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