United States Third Circuit

In a union's challenge to the district court's order affirming a bankruptcy court's order permitting defendant-employer to terminate provision of retiree health and life insurance benefits without complying with 11 U.S.C. section 1114 is reversed as the rule of statutory construction allowing a court to ignore the plain language of a statute when literal interpretation results in absurdity is entirely inapplicable, and here, a literal interpretation of section 1114 reveals a remedial and equitable statutory scheme that, consistent with Congress' concerns when enacting the RBBPA, attempts to prevent the human dimension of terminating retiree benefits from being obscured by the business of bankruptcy.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/28/2010
• Decided 07/13/2010
• Published 07/13/2010

Judges

• McKEE, C.J.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Thomas M. Kennedy, Steven D. McCormick