A group of six retirees and surviving spouses filed the action, alleging that El Paso and Case breached their labor agreements as well as their fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by demanding in the summer of 2002 that the retirees begin paying $290 per month for health care coverage, an amount that increased to $501 in January 2003. Although the court has not yet addressed the motion for class certification, it recently held that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits on their case and that members of the proposed class would suffer irreparable harm without an injunction. The injunction granted by the court requires that employer-paid health insurance benefits be restored for the retirees and their surviving spouses.

The United Auto Workers estimates the group includes 3,400 former employees who retired prior to October 3, 1993, and 1,500 dependent spouses. The retirees were represented by UAW when they worked at J.I. Case Company, a subsidiary of Tenneco that changed its name to Case Corporation in 1990. El Paso is the successor company to Tenneco; however, prior to Tenneco becoming part of El Paso in 1996, it spun off some assets from the parent company and from Case Corporation in an initial public offering. The new company, which is a separate defendant from El Paso, now is known as Case, LLC.

In finding the retirees faced substantial harm without an injunction, the court stated: "Unable to afford the $501 [monthly] premium, plaintiffs will lose their health care insurance, will not be able to pay for necessary prescription medications, and will not receive all the medical care they need. Reimbursing plaintiffs for their contributions at the end of the case, therefore, will not afford them relief." According to the court, a 1971 contract between Case and UAW provided that retired employees and their spouses who were eligible for pension benefits also would be eligible for major medical coverage and prescription drug benefits. Case agreed to pay the full premium cost for health care coverage for retirees and their spouses, regardless of age. Subsequent contracts contained similar language.

The final contract that applied to any of the group of retirees covered by the injunction was signed in 1990. It originally was set to expire in October 1993, but was extended in November 1993 through 1995. The extension agreement contained an appended letter from a Case senior vice president to the union's secretary-treasurer stating that average per capita annual costs to the company of providing medical benefits to retirees and surviving spouses would be capped at $2,750 for Medicare-eligible individuals and $8,500 for non-eligible persons. Despite the cap, no covered person would be required to pay a premium prior to April 1, 1998, according to the letter.

The court ruled that employees who retired after the October 3, 1993, date of the letter are not eligible for injunctive relief, and will apparently have to continue paying their own premiums.