Groover v. Michelin North America, Inc.

• Decision Date: 17 February 2000
• Docket Number: No. Civ.A. 97-A-1780-E.,Civ.A. 97-A-1780-E.
• Parties: Phillip GROOVER, et al., Plaintiffs, v. MICHELIN NORTH AMERICA, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

90 F.Supp.2d 1236

Phillip GROOVER, et al., Plaintiffs, v. MICHELIN NORTH AMERICA, INC., Defendant.

No. Civ.A. 97-A-1780-E.

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Eastern Division.

February 17, 2000.

Order Denying Reconsideration March 14, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Clarence M. Small, Jr., Christopher S. Berdy, Rives & Peterson, Birmingham, AL, James W. Davis, Galloway & Moss, L.L.C., Birmingham, AL, L. Vastine Stabler, Jr., Birmingham, AL, Thomas L. Rountree, Deputy District Atty., Ouachita Parish District Attorney's Office, Monroe, LA, for plaintiffs.

Stephen E. Brown, Jeffrey A. Lee, Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C., Birmingham, AL, John J. McGowan, Jr., Baker & Hostetler, Cleveland, OH, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ALBRITTON, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This cause is before the court on cross-motions for summary judgment. The plaintiffs in this action, Phillip Groover, Harry Vogler, Leon Stancil, Wyatt Lee Potts, Jr., Norman Shockley, Jr., Marline Sykes, Roy E. Plott, John Smith, and Deborah Lea, together with the conditionally certified class they represent (collectively "Plaintiffs"), filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on July 28, 1999 (doc. # 35). On August 19, 1998, the Defendant, Michelin North America, Inc., ("Michelin"), filed a Brief in Opposition to the Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and in Support of Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, and filed, in conjunction with its Brief, a Motion for Summary Judgment on all counts alleged in the complaint (doc. # 39).

Plaintiffs initiated this action alleging violations of § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 ("LMRA") for breach of a collective bargaining agreement, and § 502(a)(3) and 510 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, ("ERISA") for interference with protected rights under Michelin's pension and insurance plan. Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that Michelin North America made unilateral changes to the health insurance benefits supplied to hourly retirees in violation of applicable Pension and Insurance Agreements ("P & I Agreements") that Plaintiffs claim provided union retirees nonforfeitable rights to minimum levels of lifetime insurance benefits.

For the reasons discussed below, both Motions are due to be DENIED.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The party asking for summary judgment "always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the `pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,' which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The movant can meet this burden by presenting evidence showing there is no dispute of material fact, or by showing, or pointing out to, the district court that the nonmoving party has failed to present evidence in support of some element of its case on which it bears the ultimate burden of proof. Id. at 322-324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

Once the moving party has met its burden, Rule 56(e) "requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by [its] own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. To avoid summary judgment, the nonmoving party "must do more than show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). If the nonmovant's response consists of nothing more than conclusory allegations, the court must enter summary judgment for the movant. See Peppers v. Coates, 887 F.2d 1493 (11th Cir.1989). On the other hand, the evidence of the nonmovant must be believed and all justifiable inferences must be drawn in its favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

After the nonmoving party has responded to the motion for summary judgment, the court must grant summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

III. FACTS

The submissions of the parties establish the following facts:

Michelin owns and operates tire manufacturing facilities in Opelika, Alabama; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Michelin merged with Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company in 1990. Uniroyal Goodrich was the product of a merger between Uniroyal, Inc. and BF Goodrich Company in the 1980's. In addition to the active manufacturing facilities, Michelin or its predecessors operated tire manufacturing plants which are now closed in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Akron, Ohio; Miami, Oklahoma; Oaks, Pennsylvania; Chicopee, Massachusetts; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Los Angeles, California. Wage employees at these facilities are or were members of a collective bargaining group represented by the International Union of the United Steel Workers of America AFL—CIO— CLC, which recently merged with the International Union of the United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America AFL—CIO—CLC. Michelin also operated textile manufacturing plants in Hogansville, Georgia; Shelbyville, Tennessee; and Exeter, Pennsylvania. A different union represented employees at those facilities.

A series of P & I Agreements, which were the subject of collective bargaining, describe the exact nature of the welfare benefit package agreed upon by the parties. Plaintiffs assert that the P & I Agreements provide medical benefits for active employees and those who retire during the life of the relevant P & I Agreement. In this case, Plaintiffs contend that, upon their retirement, their medical benefits vested under the applicable P & I Agreement and could not be subsequently lowered or modified. They assert that nearly identical language from various P & I Agreements indicates an unambiguous intent to vest. Plaintiffs have submitted to the court fourteen P & I Agreements effective prior to the 1994 P & I Agreement which allegedly reduced medical benefits. All of the Agreements contain similar provisions affording medical benefits to retirees and surviving spouses of retirees. For example, the 1991 P & I Agreement states, "Employees who retire and who are eligible under the 1991 Pension and Insurance Agreement for a Pension (other than a Deferred Vested Pension), shall receive the benefits described in this Article.... The surviving spouse of an Employee who is retired by the Company on or after the effective date of this Agreement shall continue to be eligible to receive such benefits to the earlier of the date of death or remarriage...." May 3, 1991 Uniroyal Goodrich P & I Agreement, at 219-20.

Plaintiffs contend that the phrase "shall receive the benefits described," applicable to retirees, and the phrase "shall continue to be eligible to receive such benefits," applicable to surviving spouses of retirees, unambiguously indicate that the medical benefits are vested. The 1988 Uniroyal Goodrich P & I Agreement and the various B.F. Goodrich P & I Agreements which the Plaintiffs submitted to this court contain identical phrases. The P & I Agreements entered into by Uniroyal, Inc., which the Plaintiffs submitted, contain an identical phrase applicable to surviving spouses of retirees, and provide that retirees "shall continue to receive" the benefits described in the relevant Agreement.

The disputed changes which serve as the factual basis of the Plaintiffs' claims were implemented under the P & I Agreements dated May 4, 1994 and June 12, 1997. Among the alleged reduction in benefits are an increased deductible for retirees eligible for Medicare, a cap on the level of reimbursement the company will provide to retirees for Medicare Part B premiums, an increased co-pay for prescriptions filled locally, a requirement that purchasers of name-brand prescription drugs pay the difference in cost between the name-brand and its generic counterpart, a $100 deductible for chiropractor visits, and a limitation of benefits to $25 per chiropractor visit.¹

Plaintiffs brought this action on behalf themselves and all other similarly situated retirees seeking to recover damages and to enjoin Michelin from reducing retiree benefits below the benefit levels in effect during the tenancy of the P & I Agreement when a union retiree first retired. Plaintiffs assert that the P & I Agreement in effect at the time a union retiree retired vested those retirees with a minimum level of welfare benefits that cannot subsequently be reduced without consent.

On June 24, 1999, this court issued a memorandum opinion and order conditionally certifying a class of plaintiffs composed of:

[a]ll persons who were wage employees of Michelin North America, Inc., or its predecessors, who are retired and whose medical benefits were reduced by application of collective bargaining agreements dated May 4, 1994, and June 12, 1997, and the surviving spouses or dependents of such persons who are beneficiaries of the medical benefits plans provided by Michelin.

Groover v. Michelin, 187 F.R.D. 662, 671 (M.D.Ala.1999).

Cross-motions for summary judgment followed with both Michelin and Plaintiffs arguing that the contract is unambiguous. Plaintiffs' primary contention on summary judgment is that the P & I Agreements are unambiguous and vest retirees with medical benefits. Michelin's primary...