Court Opinion

ID: 9816915
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 03:42:04.474481+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:48.095632
License: Public Domain

HEANEY, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the result reached by the majority because I am convinced that, in fact, the company lawyer who drafted the Sixteenth Amendment made a scrivener’s error. I would be remiss, however, if I did not point out that this opinion will open the door to claims by both employees and employers that a mistake was made in the drafting of agreements that are covered by ERISA. In this case, there does not seem to be a problem with correcting the lawyer’s error because the union representatives apparently agree that a mistake was made. This will not always be the case when a drafting error is made and becomes part of a written agreement covered by ERISA. Now, as I understand the opinion, the court will be able to look behind the written agreement to attempt to find the true intent of the parties. This may raise serious problems in the future.