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Expert Analysis

• Ruling Highlights Key Intersection Of 2 Health Benefit Laws

  

  The First Circuit’s recent ruling in N.R. v. Raytheon, reviving claims that an insurance plan violated the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in denying treatment for autism, shows the statute’s value as a tool for patients — and how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can be used to litigate such cases, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Sherman.

• Courts Are Right To Reject Insurer ERISA Atty Fee Awards

  

  There has been a recent, sharp uptick in insurance companies seeking fees against unsuccessful claimants of Employee Retirement Income Security Act benefits, but this unfair tactic is correctly meeting with little or no success in the courts, says Elizabeth Hopkins at Kantor & Kantor.

• Trucking Cos. Need Stronger Insurance To Protect Public

  

  A recent Law360 guest article urged lawmakers to implement liability protections for the trucking industry, but raising outdated trucking insurance limits would better incentivize companies to keep unsafe drivers and vehicles out of their fleets to begin with, protecting the industry and motorists alike, says Tad Thomas at The Thomas Law Offices and the American Association for Justice.

• Key Contract Lessons In Del. Justices' Hotel Deal Ruling

  

  The Delaware Supreme Court recently ruled in AB Stabile v. MAPS Hotels that a Chinese financial conglomerate breached a hotel sale agreement's standard ordinary course covenant, providing significant insight on the meaning and application of these contracts, and the need for consent on material changes prior to closing, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

• Trucking Industry Needs Protection From Huge Legal Verdicts

  

  Truckers and trucking companies are plagued by an exponential increase in accident litigation costs, with damages awards skyrocketing in recent years, so lawmakers should consider giving the trucking industry special liability protections similar to those enjoyed by Amtrak and emergency workers, says Harold Kim at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform.

• 8th Circ. Ruling Sets Road Map For Disability Benefit Reviews

  

  A recent ruling from the Eighth Circuit in Roehr v. Sun Life Assurance reinstated the plaintiff's disability benefits, demonstrating that while an initial approval is not a guarantee of ongoing payment, insurers need to tread carefully when they terminate benefits in the absence of new findings, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Sherman.

• Medicare Advantage Plans Must Beware DOJ Scrutiny

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice is increasingly investigating how health insurers report risk adjustment data in connection with the Medicare Advantage program, and several recent cases help detail the types of conduct that the DOJ is focusing on, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• How The ERISA Landscape May Shift This Year

  

  Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation shows no signs of slowing down after the past two landmark years, with courts poised to tackle key issues including the pleading standard for fee cases, the enforceability of arbitration agreements, mental health parity and more, say attorneys at Groom Law Group.

• US Broadened Reach Of Targeted Sanctions In 2021

  

  This year, the Office of Foreign Assets Control leveraged sanctions in pursuit of national security, evincing a clear trend toward more targeted sanctions programs without significantly sacrificing their financial impact, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• How Budget Bill Could Affect Employer Health, Benefit Plans

  

  Following the House's recent passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion spending bill — the Build Back Better Act — employers should carefully consider several of the proposal’s health care and benefits provisions, which could pose immediate compliance challenges if the act is signed into law this year, say Anne Hall and Tim Kennedy at Hall Benefits Law.

• New ERISA Rulings Diverge On Civil Procedure

  

  The Third Circuit’s recent decision in Noga v. Fulton Financial Employee Benefit Plan, which applied administrative law principles in reinstating a claimant’s Employee Retirement Income Security Act benefits, deviates from a rising chorus of judicial voices and fails to help repair ERISA's civil procedure, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Sherman.

• Why New Phase I Site Standard Matters For Real Estate

  

  As an update to the preeminent standard for Phase I environmental site assessments — an essential part of transactional due diligence — is rolled out, parties to real estate transactions should adopt the new standard if they wish to claim liability protections under the Superfund law, say Lorene Boudreau at Ballard Spahr and Mitchell Wiest and Sara Redding at Roux.

• The Implications Of COP26 For Legal Practitioners

  

  Developments at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference will create both opportunities and risks for lawyers — with many new laws, regulations and industry best practices to track, and a growing pipeline of new energy and infrastructure projects to facilitate, say Caroline May and Charles Winch at Norton Rose.