Opinion ID: 217949
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Amendments to the Plan and Subsequent Actions.

Text: The parties do not dispute that the power to amend the Plan lies with a group of Qwest employees designated as the Plan Design Committee (the PDC). In October 2005, the PDC convened to discuss amending the Plan, specifically reducing the life insurance benefit for Post-1990 Occupational Retirees. See 5 Aplt.App. 905. There is some confusion over exactly what action the PDC took that day. A document entitled Plan Design Committee, Minutes and Resolutions October 14, 2005 and signed by the members of the PDC provides in relevant part, Recommendation: That the Director, Employee Benefits, Health Life & Disability, Human Resources, or his delegate, be authorized to take all actions appropriate to implement for the 2006 plan year:  Change the benefit available under the Qwest Group Life Insurance Plan with respect to occupational employees upon retirement effective January 1, 2006:  The Basic Life Insurance Benefit is reduced to a fixed $10,000 benefit.  Change the Basic Life Insurance Benefit for Post-1990 Occupational Retirees to reduce it to a fixed $10,000 benefit effective January 1, 2006. Id. That same document states, above the signature line, RESOLVED, that the Qwest Group Life Insurance Plan be and hereby is amended and restated to incorporate the design changes approved. 5 Aplt.App. 904 (emphasis added). We refer to this document as the 2005 Resolution. The parties dispute whether this action by the PDC effectively amended the Plan. Following the 2005 Resolution, Qwest provided plan participants with (1) a Summary of Material Modification (SMM), (2) a 2006 Occupational Benefit Program Guide, and (3) a Benefit Enrollment Statement, all of which reflected the reduced benefit. See 7 Aplt.App. 1352, 1367, 1413. Qwest also sent a letter to the Association of U.S. West Retirees (AUSWR), a group to which many retirees belonged, noting the change. 7 Aplt.App. 1353-54. Qwest notified Prudential Insurance Company of American (Prudential), its life insurance provider, of the change, and on January 1, 2006, Prudential began administering the Plan in accordance with the 2005 Resolution. See 6 Aplt.App. 1219; Kerber, 656 F.Supp.2d at 1284. Qwest's 2005 year-end Form 10-K contained a note to the consolidated financial statements disclosing the reduced life insurance benefit. See 7 Aplt.App. 1295. Similar events occurred approximately one year later, this time with respect to Pre-1991 Retirees. On September 14, 2006, the PDC approved a resolution (the 2006 Resolution) which recommended that, effective January 1, 2007, the Director of Employee Benefits be authorized to change the basic life insurance benefit for Pre-1991 Retirees to a flat $10,000. 10 Aplt.App.1959. One month later, Qwest sent to all plan participants (1) an SMM noting the reduced benefits, (2) a 2007 Pre-1991 Retiree Benefit Program Guide that noted the change, and (3) a Benefit Enrollment Statement reflecting the flat $10,000 benefit. See id. at 2049, 2053, 2069. Again, Qwest sent a letter to the AUSWR regarding the change, notified Prudential, and Prudential administered the Plan consistent with the 2006 Resolution beginning January 1, 2007. See 9 Aplt.App.1921; 10 Aplt.App.2074. On December 13, 2006, the PDC executed Amendment 2006-1, which contained language similar to the 2005 Resolution reducing the life insurance benefits for Post-1990 Retirees to a flat $10,000. See 4 Aplt.App. 698. Amendment 2006-1 purported to apply retroactively as of January 1, 2006, and stated, RESOLVED, that the Life Plan be and hereby is amended to incorporate the amendments and modifications outlined above and in substantially the form attached hereto, and RESOLVED, that administrative practices previously adopted within the terms of the foregoing resolutions are hereby affirmed, approved and ratified in all respects. Id. at 699. On February 7, 2007, Qwest and Prudential entered into a written amendment to the group life insurance contract regarding the Plan (the Group Contract). 9 Aplt.App.1921. However, Qwest did not sign that amendment. Plaintiffs argue that the amendment to the Group Life Insurance Contract did not become effective until Qwest signed it on January 21, 2009, and, therefore, the amendments to the Plan did not become effective until that date.