Five Retired Umpires Seek $2 Million in Unpaid Benefits
Joe West and four colleagues filed a federal suit in New York, claiming MLB's retirement committee misapplied pension calculations.
By Lorenzo Marshall ·
Five former Major League Baseball umpires have filed a federal lawsuit against their team's retirement plan, asserting that the organization underpaid their pension benefits. The group, led by Joe West, argues that specific calculations used by the plan's committee were incorrect. They seek to recover the difference between what they received and what they believe they are legally owed.
The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 29 in New York federal court, names the American Leagues and National Leagues of Professional Baseball Clubs Retirement Income Plan for Umpires and its retirement committee as defendants. The five plaintiffs are West, Tom Hallion, Gerry Davis, Larry Vanover, and Jerry Layne. Their attorney, Paul B. Holmes, stated on Thursday that the total amount owed to the group exceeds $2 million. The suit relies on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to support their claim for additional funds.
West described a breakdown in communication with the retirement committee before the legal action began. He said he presented the discrepancy to the group and was offered a modest settlement figure. West recalled that Steven Gonzalez, MLB's senior vice president and chief employment counsel, responded to the offer with the comment, “If you don’t like the number, sue us.” West added, “Does Steve Gonzalez not know my history with dealing with lawsuits?”
The five men retired at different times. West and Davis left after the 2021 season, Hallion retired following the 2022 season, and Layne and Vanover finished their careers at the end of 2024. West worked a record 5,460 regular-season games between 1976 and 2021. In 2021, West won $500,000 in damages in a separate defamation case against former catcher Paul LoDuca.
Holmes noted that while some aspects of the benefit calculations were debatable, other issues clearly favored the umpires. “In a couple of the issues it was pretty clear that they were just shorting the umpires,” Holmes said. He explained that the players were prepared to accept slightly less than the full amount to avoid litigation, but found MLB's offers insufficient. The Major League Baseball Umpires Association is not a party to the suit. Holmes said the union chose to stay out of the matter because it is not a large organization and lacks pension experts.
MLB declined to comment on the case on Wednesday, citing the pending litigation. The lawsuit was initially reported by USA Today. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams has scheduled a pretrial conference for Dec. 11 to address the next steps in the case.
The plaintiffs are proceeding as individual litigants rather than as a class or through their union. Holmes said the group wanted to resolve the financial discrepancy directly with the plan's administrators. The court will now review the filings and prepare for the upcoming conference with the judge.
