Opinion ID: 710893
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 The plaintiffs are retired employees of, and surviving spouses of retired employees of, Kelsey-Hayes Company and Hayes Wheels International, which manufacture automobile brakes and wheels. During the plaintiffs' or plaintiffs' spouses' employment, the United Automobile Workers (UAW) and five of its local unions represented them in collective bargaining with their employer. The five bargaining units originally served employees at seven different Kelsey-Hayes plants. Since the 1960s, as required by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in effect at each plant, Kelsey-Hayes has provided health insurance benefits to employees, to retirees, and to the surviving spouses of deceased retirees. 3 In 1987, Kelsey-Hayes sold three of its plants. At that time, the employees in those plants terminated their employment with Kelsey-Hayes. Kelsey-Hayes, however, continues to provide health insurance benefits to employees who retired from those plants before the sales, and to their spouses, and to the surviving spouses of deceased retirees. 4 In December of 1992, Kelsey-Hayes split into two companies: Kelsey-Hayes Co., which continued the brake business, and Hayes Wheels International, which continued the wheel business. 1 When the company split, the new Kelsey-Hayes (see footnote 1) took three plants, and Hayes Wheels took one plant. Kelsey-Hayes continues the sponsorship of health insurance benefit plans for pre-split retirees, including those who are retired from the three plants sold in 1987, while each company sponsors the plans for its own post-split retirees. 5 On April 26, 1993, each company announced that it would modify the health insurance benefits provided to retirees and surviving spouses, effective January 1, 1994. The companies described the changes in a summary plan description 2 (SPD) sent to all retirees in November of 1993. The modifications included the imposition of a monthly premium contribution, increased co-payment and annual deductible requirements, a lifetime benefit cap of $500,000 per beneficiary, and the elimination of the Special Age 65 Benefit. 3 Generally, the companies were to deduct the costs of these modifications from the pensioners' monthly checks. These changes affected at least some retirees from five different plants, and their spouses. The modifications went into effect as planned on January 1, 1994. 6 Meanwhile, the plaintiffs filed this action as a class action on November 12, 1993. 4 The plaintiffs raise one claim, for breach of collective bargaining agreements, that is relevant to the issues presented here. They seek declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief, and costs and attorney fees. In their complaint, the plaintiffs included a demand for a jury trial. 7 On December 23, 1993, the plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. The district court scheduled a hearing on the motion for March 10, 1994. Prior to the hearing, one of the UAW locals negotiated new CBAs for two of the plants at issue, one owned by Kelsey-Hayes, the other by Hayes Wheels. During these negotiations, both Kelsey-Hayes and Hayes Wheels entered into separate letter agreements with the local union rescinding virtually all the changes to the retiree health plans for those two plants, retroactive to January 1, 1994, and subject to the outcome of this litigation. As a result, the plaintiffs withdrew their request for a preliminary injunction as to retirees from those two plants. 8 On March 14, 1994, the district court entered a preliminary injunction directing Kelsey-Hayes to reinstate health insurance benefits to pre-1994 levels for retirees of the three remaining plants affected by the injunction. 5 The injunction took effect on April 18, 1994, when the plaintiffs posted an injunction bond. On April 29, 1994, Kelsey-Hayes filed a notice of its intent to appeal the preliminary injunction. 9 On December 20, 1994, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in which they added Hayes Wheels as a defendant. The amended complaint, like the original complaint, included a demand for a jury trial. On February 28, 1995, the district court struck the plaintiffs' jury demand on the recommendation of a magistrate judge, after briefs and argument. 10 On May 4, 1995, the plaintiffs filed in this court a petition seeking a writ of mandamus directing the district court to reinstate their jury demand.