Chester Degeare v. Alpha Portland Industries, Inc., and the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that employer's promise to future retirees that benefits \will continue\ could not be read as promise of vested lifetime benefits
• holding that employer’s promise to future retirees that benefits “will continue” could not be read as promise of vested lifetime benefits
• stating that “[c]onstruing ambiguities against the drafter should be the last step of interpretation, not the first step”
• recognizing contra proferentem rule as a matter of federal common law
• “plaintiffs must establish their case by a preponderance of the evidence if they are to prevail”
• reservation of rights language unambiguously confers on the company the right to amend or terminate the plan

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).