Opinion ID: 772562
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Coverage of the Jacksonville Defendants by the Release

Text: 60 The claims against TJI and TJL cannot be dismissed based on the Release because the Release does not cover TJI or TJL. The district court concluded that the Release unambiguously included TJL and therefore granted TJL summary judgment. VKK, 55 F. Supp. 2d at 209-10. We disagree. 61 Under New York law, 10 the initial interpretation of a contract 'is a matter of law for the court to decide.' K. Bell & Assocs., Inc. v. Lloyd's Underwriters, 97 F.3d 632, 637 (2d Cir. 1996) (quoting Readco, Inc. v. Marine Midland Bank, 81 F.3d 295, 299 (2d Cir. 1996)). Included in this initial interpretation is the threshold question of whether the terms of the contract are ambiguous. See Cable Science Corp. v. Rochdale Village, Inc., 920 F.2d 147, 151 (2d Cir. 1990); Garza v. Marine Trans. Lines, Inc., 861 F.2d 23, 27 (2d Cir. 1988). [I]f the contract is capable of only one reasonable interpretation, i.e., is unambiguous, we are required to give effect to the contract as written. K. Bell & Assoc., 97 F.3d at 637 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Fulton Cogeneration Assocs. v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., 84 F.3d 91, 98 (2d Cir. 1996); United Nat'l Ins. Co. v. Waterfront N.Y. Realty Corp., 994 F.2d 105, 107 (2d Cir. 1993). 62 The district court concluded that the plain, unambiguous language of the Release confirms that... [TJL] is within its scope because TJL is a member club of the NFL and a successor to the NFL and/or to the 28 predecessor member clubs. VKK, 55 F. Supp. 2d at 209-10. The district court also found that the Release was intended to cover all member clubs of the NFL, including member clubs at the time any 'future... claims' might be brought by the plaintiffs. VKK, 55 F. Supp. 2d at 209. We disagree. 63 The Release states that Kiam and the two VKK corporations: 64 hereby release and forever discharge the National Football League, its officers, directors,... employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, predecessors, principals, heirs, executors, administrators, trustees, beneficiaries, agents, successors, and assigns, and each Member Club of the National Football League... their officers, directors... subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, predecessors, principals, heirs, executors, administrators, trustees, beneficiaries, agents, successors, and assigns... of and from any and all past or present or, if based, in whole or in part, on facts, actions, claims or matters existing or occurring from the beginning of the world to the date of this Release, future claims. 65 The Release does not say that Kiam and the two VKK corporations release clubs that are not members at the time the Release is signed but become members at the time future claims are brought. There are two words that might be interpreted to include future member clubs: successor and affiliate. A successor is generally defined as one that succeeds or follows; one who takes the place that another has left and sustains the like part or character. Black's Law Dictionary, 1446 (7th ed. 1999). TJL is neither a successor of the NFL nor a successor of a member club. It did not take the place of any entity that existed at the time of the signing of the Release. Rather, it is a completely new member club added to the NFL in 1994. 11 An affiliate is defined as being close in connection, allied, associated, or attached as a member or branch. Id. at 59. The Release's reference to affiliates and the definition of the word are stated in the present tense. Nothing in this definition indicates the inclusion of future rather than present members. 66 Our conclusion that the Release does not cover future member clubs such as TJL is supported by the principle of expressio unius est exclusio alterius. 12 The NFL and its member clubs are sophisticated commercial actors who could have specifically referred to future member clubs had they intended to include them in the Release. The Release refers to past, present, and future... Releasors but makes no mention of future Releasees, leading us to conclude that the parties to the Release did not intend to include future member clubs. See Cornell Univ. v. UAW Local 2300, 942 F.2d 138, 139 (2d Cir. 1991) (holding that under the theory of expressio unius est exclusio alterius, a collective bargaining agreement that enumerates those matters subject to arbitration excludes those matters not enumerated); Israel Discount Bank, Ltd. v. Gottesman, 544 F.2d 80, 82 (2d Cir. 1976) (applying the maxim expressio unius est exclusio alterius to find that the failure of Israel Discount, a sophisticated commercial lender, to include... specific reference to tort claims precludes our divining or implying such a right on the basis of the general language of the agreement.) The Release therefore does not cover TJL, and the district court improperly granted summary judgment on that basis. 67 Finally, TJI has never been a member or affiliate of the NFL or a successor or affiliate of a member club. Whether or not future members are included within the Release, TJI is not covered.