The five umpires say Major League Baseball miscalculated their retirement benefits, shorting them more than $2 million combined.
Five retired MLB umpires have filed a federal lawsuit against Major League Baseball, claiming the league wrongfully underpaid them under its umpires' retirement income plan. The group includes Joe West, who worked an MLB-record 5,460 regular-season games, along with Gerry Davis, Tom Hallion, Larry Vanover and Jerry Layne.
The 44-page complaint was filed on Sept. 29 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit was first reported by USA Today.
Attorney Paul Holmes, who is representing the umpires alongside Mark Debofsky, said the five plaintiffs are not the only ones affected. He claims at least two dozen other umpires were also not supplied with the proper amount of money in their pension plans.
All five umpires involved in the suit were out of baseball by the time they say the miscalculations surfaced. The case centers on how MLB calculated benefits owed under the umpires' retirement plan, with the plaintiffs seeking more than $2 million total in what they say they are rightfully owed.