Opinion ID: 771820
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Scope of Releases

Text: 71 Previously we affirmed the district court's finding that the releases are broad and unambiguous. See Allen, 945 F.2d at 44. They purport to relieve WestPoint of all obligations under the deferred compensation agreement, as amended by the EPI Amendment. The district court did not provide any rationale for its implicit finding that the releases did not encompass WestPoint's obligations under the fee-shifting provision. In any event, like any other contract, we review de novo the scope of an unambiguous release. See Tourangeau, 101 F.3d at 306; Spector v. Sovereign Constr. Co., 45 A.D.2d 673, 673, 356 N.Y.S.2d 79, 80 (1st Dep't 1974) (per curiam). 72 An unambiguous release should be enforced according to its terms. Booth v. 3669 Delaware, 92 N.Y.2d 934, 935, 680 N.Y.S.2d 899, 900, 703 N.E.2d 757, 758 (1998); see also Mangini v. McClurg, 24 N.Y.2d 556, 562, 301 N.Y.S.2d 508, 512-13, 249 N.E.2d 386, 390 (1969). Under New York law, a broad release of contractual obligations includes the obligation to pay attorney's fees unless attorney's fees are expressly carved out of the release. See, e.g., 815 Park Avenue Owners v. Metzger, 250 A.D.2d 471, 471-72, 672 N.Y.S.2d 860, 861 (1st Dep't 1998) (recovery of attorney's fees expressly excepted in release). Cf. Valley Disposal v. Central Vermont Solid Waste Management Dist., 71 F.3d 1053, 1058 (2d Cir. 1995) (in section 1983 context, holding that a party may express its intent to waive attorneys' fees by employing broad release language, regardless of whether that release explicitly mentions attorneys' fees). The releases contain no express carve-out of any provision of the agreement. Accordingly, we hold that the releases extinguish WestPoint's obligation to pay attorney's fees under the EPI Amendment. 73 The Allen plaintiffs do not dispute the broad scope of the February 22, 1989 releases. Nor could they. Instead, the Allen plaintiffs argue that the April 5, 1989 cover letter which accompanied the lump sum payments limited the scope of the releases to the Company's obligation to make informal payments. This argument is baseless. 74 The April 5, 1989 form letter was sent to participants in various benefit programs administered by WestPoint and does not contain a single reference to the Allen releases. Therefore, it cannot be deemed to supersede or modify the broad and unambiguous February 22, 1989 releases. See Goldberg v. Manufacturers Life Ins. Co., 242 A.D.2d 175, 181, 672 N.Y.S.2d 39, 44 (1st Dep't 1998); Teitelbaum Holdings v. Gold, 48 N.Y.2d 51, 56, 421 N.Y.S.2d 556, 559, 396 N.E.2d 1029, 1032 (1979) ([M]atters extrinsic to the agreement may not be considered when the intent of the parties can be gleaned from the face of the instrument.).