Duso v. Groton

Citations

• 353 Conn. 667

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, retired law enforcement officers formerly employed by the defendant town, sought a judgment declaring that, pursuant to a pension agreement between the town and the union that had represented them during their employment, they were entitled to the same contributions to their health savings accounts (HSAs) that the town makes to the HSAs of police officers currently employed by the town (active police officers). The provision of the pension agreement addressing the scope of health insurance coverage for retirees provided that retirees are entitled to the ''nature and scope of coverages, including but not limited to deductibles . . . in effect for active [p]olice [o]fficers . . . .'' The pension agreement was incorpo- rated into a collective bargaining agreement, executed after all of the plain- tiffs retired, pursuant to which the town changed its group health insurance plan to a high deductible plan with an annual deductible of $2000 for single person coverage and $4000 for two or more person coverage. The collective bargaining agreement also requires the town to contribute 50 percent of the cost of an active police officer's annual deductible to the active police officer's HSA. The trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and the Appellate Court upheld the trial court's decision, concluding that the pension agree- ment required the town to make the same HSA contributions to the plaintiffs' HSAs that it makes to the HSAs of active police officers. On the granting of certification, the defendant appealed to this court. Held: 668 DECEMBER, 2025 353 Conn. 667 Duso v. Groton The Appellate Court incorrectly concluded that the pension agreement enti- tled the plaintiffs to the same HSA contributions as those made by the town to the HSAs of active police officers, and, accordingly, this court reversed the Appellate Court's judgment, remanded the case, and directed that the trial court render judgment for the town. The plain and unambiguous meaning of t