Justice Eileen Bransten
Verizon Corporate Service Group moved to dismiss Coleman & Associates Enterprises’ complaint alleging a breach of contract. The parties entered into a professional services agreement (PSA) for Coleman to provide customer care support services, executing a statement of work (SOW) for a call center in Norfolk, Virginia, and a second SOW for a center in Tampa, Florida. The Norfolk SOW required annual pay increases to employees based on the consumer price index (CPI), while the Tampa SOW was silent regarding pay increases. Verizon argued the plain language of the contracts mandated dismissal as the agreements unambiguously provided that CPI increases would only be paid at the Norfolk site. The court found the Tampa SOW listed different labour categories and functions, and different rates for employees than at Norfolk. It stated the Tampa SOW clearly and unambiguously provided for payment of labour costs for Norfolk, and expressly excluded any costs not stated in the agreement. The court found the agreements provided that separate SOWs could be executed for each call center, and they could be placed on their own terms under the PSA. Hence, the breach of contract claim was dismissed.
