Matter of Odessa-Montour Cent. School Dist. (Odessa-Montour Teachers Assn.)

In Matter of Odessa-Montour Cent. School Dist. (Odessa-Montour Teachers Assn.) (271 AD2d 931, 932), the Third Department examined the arbitrability of a dispute between a retiree and his former employer regarding the retiree's entitlement to health insurance coverage under a collective bargaining agreement. The Court noted that the agreement defined grievance as "a claim by any teacher or group of teachers that there is a violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of this Agreement" (id.). The Court carefully distinguished several cases where the definition of a grievance did not depend upon the status of the aggrieved individuals, but only the existence of a dispute regarding violation, meaning, or application of the agreement ( id. at 932-933).