Court Opinion

ID: 9472687
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 04:07:22.42326+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:43:04.377531
License: Public Domain

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I agree that where the terms of the collective bargaining agreement are superficially clear and facially unambiguous, the arbitrator may look for guidance outside the terms of the agreement to extrinsic or collateral sources, if there is a latent ambiguity. See Rainbow Glass Co. v. Local Union No. 610, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 663 F.2d 814, 817 (8th Cir.1981); accord Loveless v. Eastern Air Lines, Inc., 681 F.2d 1272, 1280 (11th Cir.1982) (excellent discussion).
My disagreement with the majority lies in the application of this rule to the language at issue in this case. I do not agree that the language at issue is only superficially clear and facially unambiguous or contains any latent ambiguity. The language at issue expressly states that whether an employee has an occupational injury will be determined by the company, thus clearly reserving to the company the tasks of determining what constitutes an occupational injury and whether a particular employee has an occupational injury. Because the language at issue is plain and unambiguous, the board should not have considered extrinsic or collateral materials. The board’s award is inconsistent with the language at issue and therefore cannot be said to draw its essence from the collective bargaining agreement. I would reverse the judgment of the district court.