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UI retiree lawsuit likely headed to Idaho Supreme Court

December 21, 2009, 1:53 pm

The judge in a lawsuit filed against the University of Idaho by 268 of its former employees said Monday it's likely the case will end up in the state's highest court.

"I think we all know that this case is going up and will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court," Latah County District Judge John Stegner said after hearing a motion to reconsider his Nov. 2 decision in the UI's favor.

The employees took early retirement buyouts offered by the UI in 1999 and 2002. Those agreements said the early retirees would receive medical and life insurance benefits as outlined in "existing UI policy."

At the time of their early retirement, those benefits included UI-paid medical insurance.
But following the recommendations of a 2007 task force, the UI modified the benefits of all its retirees, adding a medical insurance premium and reducing the amount of available life insurance.

The early retirees in the suit claim the UI did not have the right to make those changes to their plans.
Stegner disagreed in his Nov. 2 summary judgment, where he wrote that the university has the right to modify the benefit plans of its employees in accordance with its Faculty-Staff Handbook. The retirees had also referenced the handbook as a definition of benefits under "existing UI policy."

Stegner said Monday that the early retirement agreements were "poorly drafted" and whether they incorporate the handbook is a "very close question."

"I would not be surprised if whatever decision I come to, the Supreme Court would come to a different decision," he said, adding that he will issue a new written decision "in due course."

For more on this story, check DNews.com and Tuesday's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.