Civil Remedies

Read Conflict of Laws updates, alerts, news, and analysis from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 22, 2013

Will New Marijuana Laws Go Up In Smoke?
Bill on Bankruptcy: Who's to Blame for the Hostess Liquidation?
Weekly Brief: Google Antitrust Suit?; Legal Weed; Law Firm Mega-Merger Mania
Appeal Trial Court - What To Do When a Party Loses or is Unhappy with a Decision Made by the Trial Court - Kathi Sandweiss discuss
The Apellate Process Explained - Kathi Sandweiss discusses the appeals process and what it can and can't do for your situation.
Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund Files For Bankruptcy

ERISA Litigation Alert: Check Your Plan Subrogation and Reimbursement Language to Eliminate “Contractual Gaps”

by Richard Birmingham | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 5/21/2013

In U.S. Airways v. McCutchen, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ability of U.S. Airways’ health plan to recover medical expenses that it previously paid to the injured party from a third party settlement, but remanded the...more

Supreme Court “Dooms” Equitable Defenses to Plan’s Reimbursement Provisions

by Lori Oliphant | Winstead PC on 4/19/2013

In a prior blog, I discussed the importance of including unambiguous reimbursement rights in health plan documents in order to manage healthcare costs. The enforceability of such rights was confirmed by the United States...more

High Court Rules Equitable Defenses Don’t Override ERISA Plan Terms

by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/19/2013

On April 16, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen (No. 11–1285), deciding the issue of whether equitable defenses, such as the principle of unjust enrichment, can override the...more

U.S. Supreme Court: Equity Cannot Trump ERISA Plan Terms in ERISA Reimbursement Case

by D. Michael Reilly | Lane Powell PC - ERISA Law on 4/18/2013

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday strengthened the ability of employer health insurance plans to recoup payments for medical expenses paid for an injured plan participant who later sues to recover damages from a third...more

Attorneys' Fees Reduce ERISA Plan's Recovery From Common Fund

by James Hazlehurst, Robert Renner | Barger & Wolen on 4/17/2013

The United States Supreme Court ruled today that absent an express provision to the contrary, the amount an ERISA plan can recover from a plan participant’s lawsuit against a third-party tortfeasor must be reduced...more

ERISA Does Not Preempt State Court Order Requiring Beneficiary to Renounce Right to Employee’s Plan Benefits, Fourth Circuit Rules

by Katherine Lange | Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC on 3/20/2013

The scenario is not difficult to imagine: An employee designates her spouse as the primary beneficiary under her employer’s life insurance and retirement benefit plans. Years later, the couple divorces, and in the marital...more