United States Ninth Circuit

In an action alleging that defendant breached collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with plaintiffs and violated the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed where: 1) the language of the CBAs made clear that defendant's agreement to pay retiree medical insurance premiums continued beyond the term of the CBAs, even where its agreement to pay non-retired employee premiums did not; 2) defendant's leeway to amend its benefit plans did not allow it to alter the terms of the CBAs under which it agreed to provide company-paid health insurance to retirees; and 3) plaintiffs failed to allege sufficient facts supporting their claim for punitive and extra-contractual damages.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/07/2010
• Published 09/07/2010

Judges

• David R. Thompson

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert Gregory, Christopher Landau