Opinion ID: 6329210
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Meaning of the Phrase “Which Would Include”

Text: The first interpretive question is the meaning of “include” in the language reading: “adequate documentation, which would include police reports, receipts[,] and pricing.” Defendant insists that “‘adequate documentation’ shall include the production of ‘police reports.’” (Reply Br., ECF No. 19 at 6). This interpretation contorts the settlement agreement too much. “Include” is inclusionary and a term of expansion rather than limitation. Put differently, the word “include” ushers in a list of examples of adequate documentation. Nowhere does the transcript indicate that any one of those categories is required or essential. Reading the word “include” as introducing a non-exhaustive list of examples is consistent with Sixth Circuit precedent. Even where a contract contains more mandatory language, such as “shall include,” the Sixth Circuit finds that the phrase “demonstrates that the list . . . is not exhaustive.” United States ex rel. Felten v. William Beaumont Hosp., 993 F.3d 428, 434 (6th Cir. 2021) (citing Samantar v. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305, 317 (2010) (“It is true that use of the word ‘include’ can signal that the list that follows is meant to be illustrative rather than exhaustive.”)). Applying the foregoing to this case, the phrase “which would include police reports, receipts[,] and pricing” indicates that the list is non-exhaustive and merely introduces examples of adequate documentation. The settlement agreement reads that if any documentation were adequate alone, it would be unnecessary to provide additional, duplicative documentation. The use of the word “include,” in conjunction with the fact that the settlement agreement lacks emphatic indication that each of the three categories is required, supports affirming the district court’s order. - 15 - No. 20-3913, Cyrus v. Univ. of Toledo, et al.