United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local Union 2103 v Provencher

Overview:

• Issue: Plaintiffs seek to nullify 2021 and 2022 amendments to pension and health trust agreements, claiming they exceed trustee authority.
• Trusts: Established in 1975 for Local 1325 members and other participants.

Key Findings:

• Invalid Amendments: The court found that many amendments made by trustees in 2021 and 2022 were invalid as they exceeded their authority.
• Original Agreements: Trustees lacked authority to change parties or remove the power of amendment from the original parties without explicit authorization from the 1975 agreements.
• Severance Provision: Invalid amendments can be severed to preserve the rest of the trust agreements.

Procedural History:

• Series of hearings and filings led to this summary judgment application.

Legal Framework:

• Summary Judgment Test (Weir-Jones v. Purolator): Ensuring no genuine issue requires a trial and facts are established on a balance of probabilities.

Outcome:

• Declarations: Court declared many 2021 and 2022 amendments invalid but denied declaring the trusts governed solely by pre-2019 terms due to severance provisions.
• Standing: Luke Theriault confirmed as having standing; the standing of other plaintiffs deemed irrelevant to the outcome.
• The document does not specify any monetary award, costs, or damages granted or ordered.