Judge Glenn Suddaby
A 2003-2010 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the school district and teacher association defendants barred alteration of retirees' health insurance benefits. In their 2010-2015 CBA, defendants purportedly deprived retirees of their contractual right to health insurance coverage under the 2003-2010 CBA. The retirees' suit under 42 USC §§1983 and 1985 alleged a conspiracy to violate their contractual rights. In addition to reasserting a claim under the U.S. Constitution's Contract Clause, plaintiffs claim defendants conspired to violate their Fourteenth Amendment due process rights, and their rights under the Fifth Amendment's Taking Clause. District court dismissed suit. The 2010-2015 CBA's execution was not legislative action for Contract Clause purposes. Nor did plaintiffs' plausibly allege conspiracy. Their complaint and proposed amended complaint did not allege any specific instances of conduct plausibly suggesting a conspiracy of any "meeting of the minds" other than the fact that school district and teachers' association defendants negotiated the CBA at issue. As in Lawrence v. Town of Irondequoit, plaintiffs' rights under the 2003-2010 CBA did not rise to the level of a constitutionally protected property interest.
