United States Seventh Circuit

In a suit under ERISA and the Taft-Hartley Act alleging that defendants violated the provisions of an ERISA plain contained in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed where: 1) the contract was clear on its face as to the percentage of plaintiff's health-insurance premiums the employer was to pay, and subsequent modifications to the CBA were not evidence of a latent ambiguity in the agreement; 2) the principle that contracts can be modified by the subsequent conduct of the parties is inapplicable to ERISA plans unless the conduct is proved by a writing; and 3) the award of attorneys' fees in an amount greater than the remedial award was proper.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/07/2008
• Decided 10/22/2008
• Published 10/22/2008

Judges

• POSNER, Circuit Judge., Before BAUER, POSNER, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Ross Townsend (argued), Liebmann, Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry, Green Bay, WI, for Plaintiffs-Appellees., Kurt C. Kobelt (argued), Lawton & Cates, S.C., Madison, WI, for Defendants-Appellants.