GM prevails as Sixth Circuit affirms summary judgment in $450 million dispute with UAW
Client(s) General Motors Company
Jones Day successfully represented General Motors LLC ("New GM") in an appeal of the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the UAW in Michigan federal district court. The UAW sought a $450 million payment from New GM to a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association ("VEBA") that was established (before GM's bankruptcy) to satisfy GM's obligations regarding post-employment medical benefits for UAW retirees. In December 2013, the district court granted New GM's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case. The court ruled that the 2009 Retiree Settlement Agreement, entered into by GM and the UAW as part of GM's bankruptcy, unambiguously foreclosed the $450 million payment. In May 2015, the Sixth Circuit affirmed, finding that the 2009 Retiree Settlement Agreement unambiguously extinguished any claim for the $450 million payment.
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 2:10-cv-11366-AC-MJH (E.D. Mich.), No. 14-1019 (6th Cir.)
