Opinion ID: 2997119
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Estoppel (Count V)

Text: In order to prevail on an estoppel claim under ERISA, we ordinarily require that plaintiffs show (1) a knowing misNo. 03-2090 27 representation; (2) that was made in writing; (3) with reasonable reliance on that misrepresentation by them; (4) to their detriment. See Coker v. TWA, 165 F.3d 579 (7th Cir. 1999). However, we have found an exception when plan documents are ambiguous or misleading, in which case oral representations as to the meaning of the documents may be relevant. See Bowerman v. Wal-Mart Stores, 226 F.3d 574, 588 (7th Cir. 2000). The district court found that exception inapplicable here—a finding that is not contested by the plaintiffs—and decided the issue on the basis that the plaintiffs unreasonably relied on the representation that the HCA benefit was a “lifetime” benefit as meaning that it was also a vested benefit. Their reliance was unreasonable given that the general retirement plan documents, to which the plaintiffs were referred, contained “numerous, unambiguous provisions reserving CNA’s right to amend, suspend, or terminate the health care subsidy.” (12/28/00 Order at 13.) As a guideline for the boundaries of ERISA estoppel, we have emphasized the “narrow scope” of estoppel claims and have noted that “only extreme circumstances” justify such claims. Sandstrom v. Cultor Food Science, 214 F.3d 795, 797 (7th Cir. 2000); Coker, 165 F.3d at 585. In their brief on appeal, the plaintiffs argue that there is a material question of fact whether a promise made to them in writing that their HCA benefit would not be terminated, referring specifically to the heading in the Brief Description Newsletter stating that there would be no reduction in the HCA benefit. But this estoppel claim fails for two reasons. First, the plaintiffs have not shown a knowing misrepresentation of fact. Although “[r]epresentations about plans and intentions could be false if, at the time the statements were made, the speaker actually had a different intention,” Frahm, 137 F.3d at 961, the district court found that, at the time the VSRP was offered, Continental had no intention of terminating the “lifetime” HCA benefit. Moreover, the plaintiffs have pointed to no false statements about whether 28 No. 03-2090 the HCA benefit could be terminated, and the district court’s uncontested finding that the early retirees were not told explicitly that the “lifetime” benefits were irrevocable is therefore dispositive. The fact that the benefits were “lifetime” was not a misrepresentation; as we have discussed, the plaintiffs’ confusion stems from their erroneous (though understandable) equation of “lifetime” with “vested.” Second, the plaintiffs cannot show reasonable reliance. We agree with the district court that, even if there were material written misrepresentations as to the nature of the HCA benefit, the plaintiffs unreasonably ignored the reservations of rights clauses in the general retirement plan documents that put them on notice that the HCA benefit could be terminated or modified. The plaintiffs argue that “[a]ll of the benefits were packaged in a single plan,” which justified their reliance on the alleged representation that “the VSRP and all of its entitlements would not be terminated.” (Appellants’ Br. at 38.) However, not only were no representations made that benefits would not be terminated or altered, but, as we explained earlier, the packaging of a welfare benefit (such as the HCA) with pension benefits does not by itself make the welfare benefit a vested benefit.