Opinion ID: 754147
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Facts Discovered on Remand

Text: 8 Renewed discovery by the parties in the district court revealed the following undisputed facts. CW is a Delaware corporation and has adopted by-laws applicable at all times here pertinent which gives the Chairman of the Board of Directors, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), general and active control of [the corporation's] business and affairs. App. at 441. They expressly include the authority to sign all contracts, obligations, and other instruments on behalf of the corporation. Id. The by-laws further designate the President as the Chief Operating Officer and bestow general and active control of [the corporation's] operations, including the authority to execute contracts, fix employee compensation other than primary officers, and all other duties and powers usually appertaining to the office of president of a corporation, except as otherwise stated in the by-laws. Id. at 441-43. Finally, the by-laws provide that the Vice-Presidents shall perform all such duties and exercise all such powers as may be provided by these by-laws or as may from time to time be determined by the Board of Directors, ... the Chairman, or the President. Id. at 443. 9 Mr. T. Roland Berner, who died in the spring of 1990, long before remand to the district court, was CW's Chairman of the Board, CEO, and President. Mr. Charles Ehinger and Mr. Richard Sprigle, both now retired, were CW's two Executive Vice Presidents. While the precise responsibilities of Mr. Ehinger and Mr. Sprigle are the subject of some disagreement between the parties to this action, although not between the two Vice Presidents themselves, it is not disputed that Mr. Ehinger generally handled corporate staff issues for all CW employees and Mr. Sprigle was essentially in charge of operations at the Wood Ridge facility in New Jersey. App. at 181, 247. 10 Discovery before the district court also yielded the following undisputed facts relating to the Plan's history. CW's post-retirement and health benefits plan was established, implemented, and administered without any formal board action other than a 1976 authorization of an undertaking to self-insure its health insurance plans and an adoption of a Trust Agreement in connection with that self-insurance. There is no written delegation of authority over Plan matters to any particular corporate officer, either by name or by title. On September 1, 1976, Mr. Ehinger executed a Plan Constitution as the general instrument governing welfare benefits, and thereby purported to create a CW retirement benefits Plan that complied with ERISA. The board took no part in this action, and its minutes are completely silent as to Plan matters until November 8, 1990, when it sought to retroactively ratify the 1983 SPD amendment at issue. In 1978 and 1981, Plan amendments providing for an adjustment of health benefits had been made by certain managers working under Mr. Ehinger's direction. App. at 337-39. Again, corporate records do not show formal involvement by either the board or Mr. Berner with respect to these amendments. 11 It is undisputed that Mr. Richard A. DuBois, the Corporate Manager for Benefits, and Mr. Aaron J. Carr, CW's labor counsel, initially drafted the 1983 SPD amendment providing for the termination of health benefits for a closed plant's retirees. Here the parties' accounts begin to diverge. CW contends, based on the deposition testimony of Mr. Ehinger and Mr. Sprigle, that Mr. Berner, the President, orally delegated the authority to deal with Plan matters to Mr. Ehinger. It further argues that Mr. Ehinger explicitly authorized Mr. DuBois and Mr. Carr to draft the necessary language in the SPD amendment which would provide for a termination of health benefits upon the closing of a CW plant. CW points to Mr. Ehinger's assertions in his deposition that he read the provision at issue and approved it pursuant to his authority over Plan administration. App. at 195-97. Plaintiffs, on the other hand, strenuously dispute in their briefs the testimony of Mr. Ehinger that he had intentionally amended the SPD based on an oral delegation of authority by Mr. Berner. Pointing to various alleged inconsistencies in Mr. Ehinger's deposition, plaintiffs emphasize that CW issued the SPD amendment without ever intending it to be a substantive change in policy. 12