Collective Bargaining Agreement Unambiguous—Lifetime Health Benefits Mandated
In concluding the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) unambiguously provided lifetime health insurance coverage to the petitioners pursuant to the CBA in effect upon their retirement, the Third Department wrote:
A written agreement that is clear and complete on its face must be enforced according to the plain meaning of its terms …Extrinsic evidence may be considered to discern the parties’ intent only if the contract is ambiguous, which is a question of law for the court to resolve…. In determining whether an ambiguity exists, “‘[t]he court should examine the entire contract and consider the relation of the parties and the circumstances under which it was executed. Particular words should be considered, not as if isolated from the context, but in the light of the obligation as a whole and the intention of the parties as manifested thereby'”… . Pursuant to the CBAs in effect at the time each petitioner retired, an employee who had completed 10 years of service was entitled to health insurance coverage “in retirement.” In order to receive that coverage at a rate of 100% per individual and 75% per dependent, the only requirement was that the individual “retire during the term of the contract.” Matter of Warner, 516038, 3rd Dept 7-3-13
