United States Ninth Circuit

In a union and retirees' action against the owner and operator of a copper smelter plant's retirement plan seeking to compel arbitration of retirees' benefits claims, summary judgment for plaintiffs, denial of defendant's motion to stay, and an award of attorney's fees is affirmed in part and remanded where: 1) the presumption of arbitrability applies in this case; 2) consequently, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment for the union, as the union's interpretation of the relevant plan documents is at least a reasonable interpretation of the relevant language; 3) a request for arbitration was not untimely; 4) retirees are not excluded from the arbitration procedure; 5) neither the judicial estoppel nor the law of the case doctrines apply to bar the union from opposing defendant's motion to stay; and 6) the fees award was not an abuse of discretion. The matter is remanded for further proceedings on what effect an automatic bankruptcy stay has on the fees award against the employer.

Appellate Information

• Argued 10/15/2007
• Decided 01/07/2008
• Published 01/07/2008

Judges

• WALLACE, Senior Circuit Judge:, Before:  J. CLIFFORD WALLACE and JOHNNIE B. RAWLINSON, Circuit Judges, and JANE A. RESTANI, Judge.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• John Alan Doran and Leigh Anne Ciccarelli, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Phoenix, AZ, for the appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Robert J. Stock, Joshua F. Young and Jay Smith, Gilbert & Sackman, Los Angeles, CA, for the appellees.