Marshall v. City of Huntington

• Decision Date: 07 December 2020
• Docket Number: No. 19-0973,19-0973
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: Herschel Marshall, Plaintiff Below, Petitioner v. The City of Huntington, a municipal corporation, and Steve Williams, Mayor, Defendants Below, Respondents

Herschel Marshall, Plaintiff Below, Petitioner v. The City of Huntington, a municipal corporation,and Steve Williams, Mayor, Defendants Below, Respondents

No. 19-0973

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

December 7, 2020

(Cabell County 17-C-154)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Petitioner Herschel Marshall, by counsel Bert Ketchum, appeals the Circuit Court of Cabell County's October 31, 2019, order granting summary judgment to respondents. Respondents the City of Huntington, a municipal corporation, and Steve Williams, Mayor of the City of Huntington, by counsel, Ancil Ramey, filed a response to which petitioner submitted a reply.

This Court has considered the parties' briefs and the record on appeal. The facts and legal arguments are adequately presented, and the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument. Upon consideration of the standard of review, the briefs, and the record presented, the Court finds no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error. For these reasons, a memorandum decision is appropriate under Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Petitioner worked for twenty-four years as a firefighter for the City of Huntington ("City") before retiring on October 20, 2000. During his tenure as a firefighter, the City and the International Association of Firefighters Local Union 289 ("the Union") entered into a Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA") that went into effect on November 1, 1999, and terminated on December 31, 2003. Under that CBA, "[t]he firefighter upon retirement will have the option to participate in any or all available health benefits and choose family or individual coverage." When petitioner retired, he executed the City's "Agreement for Continuation of Health Insurance" pursuant to the CBA. The CBA provides, in part, as follows:

a. Article X, Section 7. Hospitalization:

The City shall maintain and pay the applicable cost of a family/single medical insurance plan, comparable to the plan presently in existence and in conformity with Article X, Section 11 and any increased costs to the City of said plan while this Contract is in effect.b. Article X, Section 9. Prescription and Eye Care Programs:

The City shall maintain prescription and eye care programs comparable to the present coverage and benefit levels and in conformity with Article X, Section 11 of the CBA and will pay any increased costs to the City while this Contract is in effect.

Article X, Section 10. Retirement Health Benefits:

(A)Upon retirement, any and all sick time accumulated and not converted to additional vacation time (pay out) may be converted towards a 40% reduction of premium paid by the retired firefighter for Major Medical, prescription care, eye care and any additional benefits added in the future. Reduction of said premiums may continue for up to 10 years or until accumulated sick time is exhausted, whichever comes first. The firefighter upon retirement will have the option to participate in any or all available health benefits and choose family or individual coverage.

Article X, Section 11. Cooperation for Cost Efficient Benefits:

In an effort to provide cost efficient options or changes in health and major medical plan, including, but not limited, health, major medical plan, prescription drug plan and eye care plan, including but not limited to, co-pays, deductibles and premiums, etc. the Union agrees to meet with the City to negotiate said modifications for its members.

The Union agrees to accept the following changes in insurance coverage should the City agree to said changes for all city employees:

(1) Up to, but not exceeding co-pays on prescription drugs . . . .

(2) Prescription drug reimbursement will be removed from the medical insurance.

(3) Use of a "Preferred Provider Option" in medical insurance coverage.

(4) A $150.00 monthly co-pay stop loss per individual shall apply to the prescription coverage.

(5) The City will maintain a mail order prescription service . . . .

(6) The City shall provide an open enrollment period of not less than ninety (90) days for fire department retirees/pension beneficiaries who are not currently enrolled in the prescription drug program. Retirees . . . with a monthly pension of less than $750.00 and with an annual income of less than $12,000.00 shall be entitled to enroll in the prescription drug program without monthly premium costs. All co-pays, deductibles and other costs of the program remain applicable.

(7) The City shall permit hardships and special circumstances regarding prescription insurance to be appealed to the Insurance Appeals Board of the City.

According to petitioner, it is undisputed that he received the retirement health benefits he elected until the City unilaterally and substantially changed the health insurance plan on April 1, 2017.¹

On March 7, 2017, petitioner filed a complaint for declaratory judgment asserting five claims: (1) the City would be breaching its contractual obligations under the CBA that was in force when he retired in August of 2000 by making changes to his retiree health insurance benefits effective on April 1, 2017; (2) the changes to petitioner's retiree health insurance benefits would violate West Virginia Code § 8-12-8; (3) the changes to his retiree health insurance benefits would constitute an impairment of his contractual rights in violation of Article III, Section 4 of the West Virginia Constitution; (4) the changes to his retiree health insurance benefits would violate his right to due process in violation of Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution; and (5) the changes to his retiree health insurance benefits would violate his right to equal protection in violation of Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution.²

Petitioner filed a motion for summary judgment, attaching a "Wage and Benefit Agreement Between the City . . . and the International Association of Firefighters Local Union 289," the CBA. That CBA was in effect when petitioner retired in 2000 but undisputedly expired on December 31, 2003. The CBA provides, in relevant part, that "[t]he City shall maintain and pay the applicable cost of a family/single medical insurance plan, comparable to the plan presently in existence and in conformity with Article X, Section 11 and any increased costs to the City of said plan while this contract is in effect." With regard to the eyecare program, the CBA provides that "[t]he City will maintain prescription and eye care programs comparable to the present coverage and benefit levels and in conformity with Article X, Section 11 and will pay any increased costs to the City while this contract is in effect." According to the circuit court, there is no evidence in the record regarding the health insurance benefits or eye care programs in effect at the time of petitioner's retirement in 2000. The CBA further addressed "RETIREMENT HEALTH BENEFITS" by providing that during the term of the CBA, (1) retirees could convert accumulated vacation and sick leave towardsa premium reduction "for Major Medical, prescription card, eye care and any additional benefits added in the future"; and (2) the City would fund a "Fire Department Retiree's Insurance Fund Settlement," which was expressly limited to "the life of the agreement." The circuit court found that at the time the CBA was executed, petitioner's Union and the City had not reached a meeting of the minds but were still negotiating changes to the health insurance plans:

In an effort to provide cost effective options or changes in health and major medical plan, including but not limited to, health, major medical plan, prescription drug plan and eye care plan, including but not limited to, co-pays, deductibles and premiums, etc. The Union agrees to meet with the City to negotiate said modifications for its members. The Union agrees to accept the following changes in insurance coverage should the City agree to said changes for all city employees.

Petitioner argued below, and stated in an affidavit, that "[a]lthough the CBA expired on or about December 31, 2003, the agreements in the CBA relating to [his] retirement health benefits are still binding on the City." The circuit court found that petitioner's affidavit "does [not] identify what his health insurance benefits were in 2000 when he retired." However, an affidavit from Sherry Lewis, The Human Resources Director of the City, provides that "[a]s of the effective date of [petitioner's] retirement, no CBA or other separate contract had been executed between the City . . . and [the Union] setting the terms and conditions of the health, major medical, prescription, and eye care plans for active and retired member of the [Union] or their spouses and/or dependents." She further set forth in her affidavit that

[d]uring the time period the 1999 CBA was in effect, several changes to the terms and conditions of the health, major medical, prescription, and eye care plans for active and retired members of the [Union] or their spouses and/or dependents were implemented by the City . . . . After the time period the 1999 CBA was in effect, several changes to the terms and conditions of the health, major medical, prescription, and eye care plans for active and retired members of the [Union] or their spouses and/or dependents were implemented by the City . . . . These changes were implemented by the City [] in the exercise of its right to provide whatever fringe benefits it chose to provide to its employees and retirees, including [petitioner] and his fellow retired [Union] members.

According to Ms. Lewis's affidavit, the CBA did not address the amount of premiums to be paid by retirees for health, major medical, prescription, or eye coverage; the amount of co-pays to be paid by retirees for health, major medical, prescription, or eye coverage; the amount of deductibles to be paid by retirees for health, major medical, prescription, or eye coverage; or the scope of major medical, prescription drug,...