Mealey's ERISA
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March 15, 2024
Termination Of LTD Benefits Was Result Of Deliberate Reasoning Process, Panel Says
CINCINNATI — A disability insurer’s termination of a claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits was not arbitrary and capricious because the insurer’s decision was the result of a deliberate and principled reasoning process and was supported by substantial medical evidence, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in affirming a district court’s opinion.
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March 15, 2024
Respondents To High Court: Deny Review Of 4th Circuit ERISA Surcharge Ruling
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Arguing that the case is a poor vehicle and that a purported circuit conflict is “illusory,” an employer and related respondents urge the U.S. Supreme Court to deny review and summary reversal in a suit concerning whether surcharge is available under an Employee Retirement Income Security Act provision that allows equitable relief.
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March 14, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Ruling Against Beneficiary In Business Travel Accident Row
NEW ORLEANS — Affirming summary judgment in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act dispute involving business travel accident (BTA) insurance, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued an unpublished opinion ruling that the trial court “correctly reviewed the denial [of benefits] for abuse of discretion.”
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March 14, 2024
Labs Seek Reconsideration In ERISA Preemption, Florida Payment Laws Case
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Defendant laboratories in a battle over compensation for care provided to insureds filed a motion urging a federal judge in Connecticut to reconsider a finding that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act preempts certain claims, saying that Florida law creates a separate payment mandate that makes exploration of the plan language unnecessary.
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March 13, 2024
AT&T Retirees File Putative Class ERISA Suit Over Pension Risk Transfer Deal
BOSTON — Asserting in part that “reinsurance of ‘Pension Risk Transfer’ liabilities in Bermuda poses unique risks to pensioners,” four AT&T Inc. retirees who participated in a defined-benefit pension plan filed a class complaint in Massachusetts federal court challenging a “de-risking” transaction under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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March 11, 2024
Class Counsel Get $20.3M In Settlement Of ERISA Proprietary Funds Case
BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on March 8 issued orders granting final approval to a $61 million deal with General Electric Co. (GE) and related defendants that the plaintiffs said is “the largest [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] class action settlement of claims involving proprietary funds”; the judge also awarded class counsel a third of that amount for attorney fees.
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March 08, 2024
Claimant Says Additional LTD Benefits Are Owed Under Disability Plan
PORTLAND, Maine — In a March 7 complaint filed in Maine federal court, a disability claimant maintains that she is entitled to unpaid long-term disability (LTD) benefits under a disability plan because she remains disabled under the terms of the plan.
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March 08, 2024
District Court’s Decision Should Be Affirmed, Disability Claimant Maintains
PHILADELPHIA — A district court’s judgment in favor of a disability claimant should be affirmed because the court properly found that the plan’s termination of the claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits was arbitrary and capricious and that the decision was inadequate for a number of reasons, the claimant says in an appellee brief filed in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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March 08, 2024
8th Circuit Sets Argument In ERISA Case Over Cross-Plan Offsetting
ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has set argument for March 14 in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act appeal where health plan participants challenging the practice known as “cross-plan offsetting” are seeking revival of their putative class suit, which was dismissed for failure to plead an injury in fact.
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March 08, 2024
$5M Class Deal With Health System Gets Preliminary OK In ERISA Imprudence Case
DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge has granted preliminary approval of a $5 million class settlement proposal in a suit challenging numerous aspects of the management of two Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) retirement plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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March 08, 2024
Disability Insurer’s Interpretation Of Plan Terms Was Incorrect, Judge Says
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Kansas federal judge granted a disability claimant’s motion for summary judgment after determining that the claimant is owed disability benefits under his employer’s disability plan because the disability insurer’s interpretation of the plan terms regarding eligibility of coverage was incorrect.
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March 08, 2024
Disability Claimant Failed To Meet Burden Of Proving Disability, Judge Says
LAS VEGAS — A disability claimant failed to meet his burden of proving that he was disabled from performing the duties of his regular occupation as an attorney, a Nevada federal judge held after determining that the long-term disability (LTD) insurer engaged in meaningful dialogue with the claimant and did not abuse its discretion in denying the claim for LTD benefits.
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March 08, 2024
Parties Settle Long-Haul COVID Disability Dispute; Dismissal Order Entered
BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge entered an order of dismissal after the parties in a dispute over the availability of long-term disability (LTD) benefits for long-haul COVID symptoms notified the court that they reached a settlement.
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March 07, 2024
Airline Entities Seek Summary Judgment In Narrowed ERISA Suit Over ESG Factors
FORT WORTH, Texas — Days after a Texas federal judge denied their dismissal bid, airline defendants in a putative class case concerning environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and the purported proxy voting activism of investment management firms filed a summary judgment motion arguing that lack of proof dooms the action’s pleaded and unpleaded theories.
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March 07, 2024
Plaintiffs Beat Dismissal Bid In ERISA Fees, Funds Row Despite Documents Ruling
LOS ANGELES — Ruling in part that certain documents were incorporated by reference into the amended complaint, a California federal judge denied dismissal of a putative class case against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and related defendants over a 403(b) retirement plan’s fees and funds.
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March 07, 2024
Exhaustion Of Remedies Under LTD Plan Not Required Prior To Filing Suit
TACOMA, Wash. — A disability insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings must be denied because the long-term disability (LTD) plan at issue did not require the disability claimant to exhaust all administrative remedies prior to filing suit, a Washington federal judge concluded in denying the insurer’s motion.
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March 07, 2024
Former Twitter Officers File ERISA Suit For Severance Against Musk, Others
OAKLAND, Calif. — Alleging that Elon Musk “fired them without reason, then made up fake cause and appointed employees of his various companies to uphold his decision,” four former Twitter Inc. officers or executives sued Musk and other defendants in California federal court, asserting Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims for severance benefits, equitable relief and statutory penalties.
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March 07, 2024
Judge Refuses To Compel Disability Claimant To Exhaust Administrative Remedies
PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge denied a disability plan’s motion to compel a disability claimant to exhaust all administrative remedies because the disability plan failed to adhere to the 45-day deadline for deciding a claimant’s appeal of a long-term disability (LTD) benefits claim and failed to show that a special circumstance existed that warranted an extension to the 45-day deadline.
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March 06, 2024
Disability Insurer Abused Its Discretion In Denying LTD Benefits, Judge Determines
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A disability insurer abused its discretion in denying a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits because the insurer failed to consider the opinions of the claimant’s treating physicians and failed to consider whether the claimant’s heart condition and health would deteriorate if he was forced to work in a high-stress job, a Virginia federal judge said in granting the claimant’s motion for summary judgment and denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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March 06, 2024
Award Of Attorney Fees, Costs Not Warranted Based On Remand Of Claim, Judge Says
TULSA, Okla. — A disability claimant is not entitled to an award of attorney fees or costs based on the remand of the claimant’s short-term disability (STD) claim to the plan administrator because the remand order was a procedural ruling and does not constitute a success on the merits of the claim, an Oklahoma federal judge said in denying the claimant’s motion for an award of attorney fees and costs.
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March 06, 2024
LTD Benefits Must Be Reinstated, Kentucky Federal Judge Says
OWENSBORO, Ky. — A disability claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits must be reinstated because the disability insurer’s termination of benefits is not supported by the medical evidence, a Kentucky federal judge said in granting the disability claimant’s motion for judgment.
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March 06, 2024
11th Circuit Again Rules Against Dermatologist In ERISA Assignment Row
ATLANTA — Saying in an unpublished per curiam opinion that a dermatologist’s “arguments are foreclosed by the prior panel precedent rule,” an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued the latest of many rulings against her over patients’ purported assignment of benefits.
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March 06, 2024
$19M Deal In ERISA Row Over Proprietary Funds Wins Preliminary Approval
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on March 5 granted preliminary approval of a $19 million class settlement in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenging the use of proprietary investments in two New York Life Insurance Co. 401(k) plans and use of a stable value fund as the default investment.
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March 06, 2024
Certiorari Filing Deadline Extended In ERISA Preemption Case Over Oklahoma PBM Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oklahoma regulators now have until April 10 to file a certiorari petition seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of an August opinion ruling an Oklahoma pharmaceutical benefit manager (PBM) law partially preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and Medicare Part D.
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March 06, 2024
Disability Claimant Not Provided Full, Fair Review, Texas Federal Judge Says
DALLAS — A Texas federal judge remanded a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits to the plan administrator after determining that the claimant was deprived of a full and fair review based on the disability insurer’s failure to consult with a different physician regarding the claimant’s appeal following the termination of her claim.