1. The union pension fund sued an employer under ERISA, seeking the right to audit the company’s books and to recover delinquent pension payments.

The defendant company filed a motion, asking the court to permit it to bring the labor union into the case by means of a procedure called “impleading.”

The company’s claims against the union are that the collective-bargaining agreement should be voided because it was not entered into voluntarily and the union lacks majority support among the company’s workers. However, the union has no obligation to indemnify the company should it be found liable for delinquent pension contributions.
Furthermore, the pension plan is a separate contractual arrangement in which the employer is indisputably a participant, albeit the company would not be involved with the pension plan had it not first become a party to the collective agreement.
Should the court permit the union to be dragged into the lawsuit? Or is justice for the employees better served by leaving the union on the sidelines while the contribution delinquency issue is resolved by the court? See Laborers’ Pension Fund v. McKinney Construction Corp. [2000 WL 1727779 (N.D. Ill.)].