This is the determination
of the Railroad Retirement Board concerning
the continuing status of Pittsburgh &
Lake Erie Properties, Inc. (P&LE) (B.A.
No. 1222) and Montour Railroad Company (MRC)
(B.A. No. 2233) as employers under the Railroad
Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231,
et seq.) (RRA) and the Railroad Unemployment
Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. § 351,
et seq.) (RUIA). P&LE and MRC have been
employers under the RRA and RUIA with service
creditable from January 31, 1965 (P&LE)
and September 10, 1897 (MRC), respectively.
P&LE filed a petition for reorganization
under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on
March 22, 1996. As of July 31, 2003, all assets
of P&LE were liquidated and P&LE operations
ceased. P&LE employees involved in the
winding down operations were last compensated
on July 31, 2003, having filed articles
of dissolution in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
P&LE was officially dissolved as a corporate
entity on July 31, 2003. P&LE received
its discharge in bankruptcy on July 31,
2003.
MRC was owned by P&LE and was included
as an asset in the P&LE bankruptcy inasmuch
as MRC real property still existed, even though
MRC itself was abandoned as an operating carrier
in 1988. MRC employees were last compensated
in 1993. All of MRC’s remaining real
property was liquidated as of July 31, 2003.
MRC is now dissolved.
Section 202.11 of the Board’s regulations
provides that:
The employer status of any company or person
shall terminate whenever such company or person
loses any of the characteristics essential
to the existence of an employer status.
Based on the information summarized above,
it is determined that Pittsburgh & Lake
Erie Properties, Inc. and Montour Railroad
Company ceased being employers under the RRA
and the RUIA on July 31, 2003, the date
on which they ceased to exist.