WD Wisc discusses meaning of "ambiguity"

From 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149885 :



An ambiguity is "something that makes it possible to interpret a document reasonably in more than one way." Rossetto, 217 F.3d at 542. The Seventh Circuit has recognized two types of ambiguities: (1) a "patent ambiguity" is "apparent just from reading the contract without knowing anything about how it interacts with the world"; and (2) a "latent ambiguity" is "recognized as such only when a contract clear on its face -- clear that is, to the uninformed reader -- is applied to a particular dispute." Id. at 542-43.

Third, in determining whether an ambiguity exists, this court is to look at the entire contract to see if either type of ambiguity can be "disambiguated." Rossetto, 217 F.3d at 545. This search goes beyond the CBAs to include accompanying plan documents. See Barnett, 436 F.3d at 832 ("The second portion of relevant contractual language was contained in a CIPS medical plan."); Murphy, 61 F.3d at 564