Whether a pension plan designed for three generations of a family is a multiple employer plan under ERISA and subject to its coverage provisions

This petition involves three questions of exceptional importance: Whether the pension plan at issue in this case, designed and operated for over 70 years to provide pensions from a unitary asset pool for the employees of three generations of a family, is a multiple employer plan sponsored by the employers as a whole under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA ”), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.1. Whether ERISA ’s broad coverage provision, 29 U.S.C. § 1003(a)(1), encompasses a pension plan that was established by an employer for the employees of herself and her descendants, regardless of whether any or all of the employers maintained the plan.2. Whether, by selecting and reporting to the trustee of the plan which of their employees are eligible to receive pensions under the plan, the employers maintained the plan for purposes of ERISA ’s coverage provision.3. l