By: Meg Troy and Ron Kramer
Seyfarth Synopsis: Over the last several years, the law governing disputes on lifetime retiree health benefits in the Sixth Circuit has had many twists and turns. A recent decision may put an end to this uncertainty, confirming that a CBA’s general durational clause applies to healthcare benefits unless the…
By: Meg Troy and Ron Kramer
Seyfarth Synopsis: Disputes over lifetime retiree health benefits for union retirees may become a memory of the past. For the second time in three years, the Supreme Court confirms that collective bargaining agreements must interpreted based on ordinary principles of contract law and it is inappropriate to presume that…
By Ron Kramer and Chris Busey
The Supreme Court today put an end to the so-called Yard-Man inference that has plagued many employers with collective bargaining agreements that provide retiree health benefits to employees. Under the Yard-Man inference, a court would infer that negotiated retiree benefits were intended to continue for the retirees’ lives.
In…
By: Amanda Sonneborn and Chris Busey
Instead of following the proverb promise little and do much, in , the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that M&G Polymers had done the opposite — promised a lot and done little.
Plaintiffs, retirees of M&G Polymers, who had been represented by a local union, brought suit alleging…
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By: Ronald Kramer, Justin T. Curley, and Barbara Borowski,
Employers may unwittingly create implied vested contractual rights to retirement and healthcare benefits for their employees in perpetuity.
In Sonoma County Ass’n of Retired Employees v. Sonoma County, No. 10-17873 (February 26, 2013), the Ninth Circuit vacated a district court’s dismissal of…
By: Ian H. Morrison and Barbara H. Borowski
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in U.S. Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen, a case we previously wrote about on December 15, 2011 when we addressed the Third Circuit’s ruling and on June 25, 2012 when the Supreme Court granted certiorari. McCutchen…
By: Ron Kramer and Jim Goodfellow
Recently, the Sixth Circuit, in Witmer v. Acument Global Technologies, Inc.,Case No. No. 11-1793, concluded that the specific reservation of rights clause preserving the employer’s right to terminate the plan that was found in the Appendix to the collective bargaining agreement that provided retiree medical benefits…
As everyone waits for the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutional and statutory challenges to healthcare reform, stay tuned to Seyfarth Shaw. Seyfarth March 29, 2012 webinar).
A decision in the case is expected during the last week of June or the first week of July. Seyfarth Shaw Employee Benefits and ERISA Litigation attorneys…
By: Ian Morrison, Alexis Hawley and Sam Schwartz-Fenwick
A recent Third Circuit ruling, US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen, No. 10-3836, 2011 WL 5557411 (3d Cir. Nov. 16, 2011), allowed a defendant to assert equitable defenses against a claim for relief under § 502(a)(3) of ERISA.
The defendant in McCutchen was a participant in…
