The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a district court ruling Tuesday stating  Whirlpool Corp. had the right to alter Maytag retiree benefits after their union contract expired in 2008.

The appeal was brought to the higher court by the United Auto Workers Local 997 on Aug. 24, 2011, on behalf of nearly 3,000 Newton retirees, and the court heard oral arguments in the case April 18.

Ultimately, the St. Louis-based court agreed with the lower court’s decision stating that the union failed to prove that a “case or controversy” did not exist at the time Whirlpool filed legal action on July 24, 2008, one week before giving the retirees notice of the unilateral modifications to the retirement benefits.