Appellees. ON BRIEF: Pierre H. Bergeron, Lauren S. Kuley, Scott W. Coyle, Colter Paulson,
SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS (US) LLP, Cincinnati, Ohio, Gregory V. Mersol, Gilbert Brosky,
BAKER & HOSTETLER LLP, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellants. Charles J. Crueger, Erin K.
Dickinson, CRUGER DICKINSON LLC, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, Gregory F. Coleman,
GREG COLEMAN LAW PC, Knoxville, Tennessee, Edward A. Wallace, Kara A. Elgersma,
WEXLER WALLACE LLP, Chicago, Illinois, Drew T. Legando, LANDSKRONER GRIECO
MERRIMAN, LLC, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellees. J. Philip Calabrese, PORTER WRIGHT
MORRIS & ARTHUR LLP, Cleveland, Ohio, C. Darcy Copeland Jalandoni, PORTER
WRIGHT MORRIS & ARTHUR LLP, Columbus, Ohio, Shay Dvoretzky, JONES DAY,
Washington, D.C., Paulo B. McKeeby, Ronald E. Manthey, MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS
LLP, Dallas, Texas, Mary Ellen Signorille, AARP FOUNDATION LITIGATION, Washington,
D.C., Seth R. Lesser, KLAFTER OLSEN & LESSER LLP, Rye Brook, New York, for Amici
Curiae.
BOGGS, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which ROGERS, J., joined. CLAY, J.
(pp. 16–25), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.
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OPINION
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BOGGS, Circuit Judge. In this class action, the named plaintiffs represent several
thousand current and former insurance agents for American Family Insurance Company and its
affiliates (collectively, “American Family” or “the company”). The agents claim that American
Family misclassified them as independent contractors, while treating them as employees, in order
to avoid paying them benefits in compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (“ERISA”).
The sole issue in this interlocutory appeal concerns the nature of the parties’ legal
relationship: are the plaintiffs employees or independent contractors for American Family? The
company appeals the district court’s judgment that the plaintiffs are employees. Because
American Family properly classified its agents as independent contractors, we reverse.