United States First Circuit

In a suit over the effective termination date of a company's obligations under ERISA to the employees of its subsidiary after the sale of the subsidiary, partial summary judgment for plaintiffs-employees is affirmed where defendant did not terminate its responsibility for ERISA plans according to the procedural requirements of the statute, and partial summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where a plan consolidation subsequent to the sale effectively ended defendant's financial responsibility for plaintiffs' health benefits. Summary judgment for defendant on claims under the Labor Management Relations Act that defendant's denial of benefits breached collective bargaining agreements is affirmed where the language of the CBAs was clear, and plaintiffs failed to establish a latent ambiguity that required consideration of extrinsic evidence.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/07/2007
• Published 09/07/2007

Judges

• LIPEZ, Circuit Judge., Before TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, TASHIMA, Senior Circuit Judge, and LIPEZ, Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Leon Dayan, with whom Douglas L. Greenfield, Abigail V. Carter, Diane A. Khiel and Jonathan Beal were on brief, for plaintiffs-appellants/cross-appellees., Andrew Pincus, with whom Reginald R. Goeke, Andrew E. Tauber, Mayer, Brown, Row & Maw LLP, and Richard G. Moon were on brief, for defendants-appellees/cross-appellants.