Edgell v. City of Aliquippa
| Decision Date | 04 March 2022 |
| Docket Number | 860 C.D. 2020 |
| Citation | 272 A.3d 1011 |
| Parties | Douglas EDGELL and Aliquippa-Hopewell Fraternal Order of Police James W. Naim Memorial Lodge No. 26, Appellants v. CITY OF ALIQUIPPA and Dwan B. Walker, Mayor/Council President; Matthew Mottes, Council Member; Donald C. Walker III, Council Member; Jennifer Milliner, Council Member; Arthur J. Piroli, Jr., Council Member; Samuel L. Gill, City Administrator |
| Court | Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court |
Ronald R. Retsch, Pittsburgh, for Appellants.
Audrey J. Copeland, King of Prussia, for Appellees.
BEFORE: HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge, HONORABLE ELLEN CEISLER, Judge, HONORABLE STACY WALLACE, Judge
OPINION BY JUDGE COVEY
Former City of Aliquippa (City) Police Captain Douglas Edgell (Captain Edgell) and the City-Hopewell Fraternal Order of Police James W. Naim Memorial Lodge No. 26 (Union) (collectively, Appellants) appeal from the Beaver County Common Pleas Court's (trial court) August 19, 2020 order sustaining the City's, City Mayor/Council President Dwan B. Walker's, City Council Members Matthew Mottes, Donald C. Walker, III, Jennifer Milliner, Arthur J. Piroli, Jr.’s, and City Administrator Samuel L. Gill's (City Administrator Gill) (collectively, Appellees) preliminary objection (Preliminary Objection) to Appellants’ Complaint (Complaint) and dismissing Appellants’ Complaint. The issue before this Court is whether the trial court erred by dismissing Appellants’ Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to Appellants’ failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Union and the City's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).1 After review, this Court affirms.
In March 1995, the City hired Captain Edgell as a police officer. See Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 9a; Complaint ¶ 15. On July 30, 2015, at the age of 50, Captain Edgell retired from City employment in good standing and began receiving his pension and payout of vested benefits under the CBA.3 See id . The CBA in effect when Captain Edgell retired, January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2007, as modified, provided, in relevant part, that employees who retire during the CBA's term shall be eligible to receive up to $400.00 per month, beginning the month following the month in which they retire through their 65th birthday, to be used to obtain post-retirement health care insurance.4 See R.R. at 9a-11a; Complaint ¶ 17.
Specifically, Article XVIII of the CBA provides:
R.R. at 51a, 56a-57a (italic emphasis added).
Captain Edgell paid nothing toward his health insurance from August 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015, because the City covered the monthly cost that was less per month than paying him the $400.00 allowance to obtain his own coverage, which was permissible due to the past practice. See R.R. at 19a; Complaint ¶ 26. Pursuant to the CBA, the $400.00 allowance would have been payable starting August 30, 2015/September 1, 2015, if it had been paid from the beginning and not delayed by the City's coverage and payment of Captain Edgell's health insurance. See id . In January 2016, the City removed Captain Edgell from its police officer health insurance policy, thereby ending coverage for him and his spouse due to the change of policy year. See id .; Complaint ¶ 27. Captain Edgell discovered this when he attempted to purchase prescriptions that totaled more than $1,000.00, rather than the usual $80.00 co-pay under the City's insurance plan. See id . Captain Edgell's January 2016 removal from the insurance policy should have triggered the City's payment of the CBA's monthly allowance so Captain Edgell could obtain health insurance for himself and his spouse. See id .; Complaint ¶ 28.
Upon learning of the situation, Captain Edgell wrote to City Administrator Gill, and requested that the City remove him from Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA)5 coverage. See R.R. at 19a; Complaint ¶ 29. City Administrator Gill responded that Captain Edgell and his spouse's removal from the health insurance policy was a mistake, and that the City would rectify the error. See id . However, the City did not correct the issue. See id .; Complaint ¶ 30. Instead, on February 11, 2016, Captain Edgell received a letter from City Administrator Gill (February 11, 2016 Letter) which indicated that the City's records showed that Captain Edgell received his last vacation paycheck on November 6, 2015 (for the pay period ending October 31, 2015) and, as a result of the COBRA provisions and the CBA, the City was required to continue his insurance until December 31, 2015. See id .; see also R.R. at 117a-118a; Complaint Ex. 6.
The City claimed that it forwarded correspondence to all current employees concerning health insurance information advising them to select and update their current health plan benefits information. See id . The City acknowledged that Captain Edgell informed the City of his choice to remain on the current plan. See id . City Administrator Gill averred it was his belief that Captain Edgell did not review the language in the CBA regarding non-active employees , and declared that, when Captain Edgell contacted the City stating that he did not have any health insurance, the City's records showed that Captain Edgell had not made arrangements for payments to be made directly to Municipal Employers Insurance Trust (MEIT), the City's health insurer, or to the City for continued coverage under the City's health plan. See id . The City claimed that, in good faith, it reached out to MEIT to get Captain Edgell on the retirement or non-active plan after Captain Edgell told the City of the situation. See id . In addition, by the February 11, 2016 Letter, the City billed Captain Edgell $10,453.35, which the City alleges it paid on his behalf for monthly coverage from January 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016. See R.R. at 20a; Complaint ¶ 31; see also R.R. at 117a-118a; Complaint Ex. 6.
Also in the February 11, 2016 Letter, City Administrator Gill acknowledged that Captain Edgell asked when he was going to start receiving the $400.00 per month payment, and what he needed to do to ensure it. See id .; Complaint ¶ 32; see also R.R. at 117a-118a; Complaint Ex. 6. City Administrator Gill recalled that he strongly encouraged Captain Edgell to make provisions as soon as possible to attain alternative health insurance (under the CBA provisions) or pay the $10,453.25, less the $400.00 per month, by the end of February 2016. See id . City Administrator Gill advised Captain Edgell that it was imperative for Captain Edgell to contact him so the City's Human Resource Department could notify MEIT. See id .
By February 20, 2016 letter (February 20, 2016 Letter), Captain Edgell notified City Administrator Gill that Captain Edgell and his spouse obtained health insurance under the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Platinum Health Plan in February 2016, at their own expense.
See R.R. at 21a; Complaint ¶ 34; see also R.R. at 120a; Complaint Ex. 7. Since February 2016, when Captain Edgell and his spouse were removed from the City's health insurance policy, they incurred monthly costs of $1,403.16 to maintain the UPMC Health Plan (which amount gradually decreased to $949.75 a month). See id .; Complaint ¶ 35. Captain Edgell explained to City Administrator Gill that he had to obtain the UPMC Health Plan insurance because the City placed him on the expensive COBRA coverage rather than keeping him on the City's plan for one year, or instead of paying him the $400.00 monthly payment toward his own coverage, as requested and per the CBA. See id . Also, by the February 20, 2016 Letter, Captain Edgell requested payment of the $400.00 monthly payment to help offset his UPMC Health Plan insurance cost, per the CBA. See id .
Captain Edgell contacted his Union representative, who raised the issue with the City. During a March 2, 2016 meeting, City Administrator Gill asked Union President James Price and Captain Edgell to put the issue in writing, so the City could address it. See R.R. at 22a; Complaint ¶ 36. Captain Edgell submitted his proof of...
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