Editor’s Note: In the article below, Manatt discusses the Ninth Circuit’s new opinion in the ongoing Wit v. United Behavioral Health litigation and the changes from the now-vacated January 2023 Wit decision. ...more
In Raymond M. v. Beacon Health Options, Inc., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94615 (D. Utah, May 29, 2020), a Utah district court held that an ERISA plan improperly applied acute-level criteria when denying benefits for a...more
Plaintiff Doug Heckman participated in Nike's employee welfare benefit plan (the "Plan"), which was funded by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co. ("UHC"), and included healthcare benefits. Mr. Heckman's wife was covered under the...more
Plaintiff Gene Myers (“Plaintiff”), a physician, made a claim for individual disability insurance (IDI) benefits under an individual disability policy arising from low back injury caused by wearing a heavy leaded gown worn...more
Ninth Circuit Affirms Decision Rejecting Suit Seeking Early Retirement Benefits - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed a district court’s decision rejecting a plaintiff’s lawsuit seeking to overturn...more
In Fortier v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co., 916 F.3d 74 (1st Cir. 2019) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit clarified ERISA's timing requirements with respect to appealing an adverse benefits determination...more
On March 5, 2019, Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that United Behavioral Health (UBH), a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, violated its fiduciary...more
The First Circuit held that a plaintiff failed to timely exhaust her administrative remedies under a long-term disability plan because the plan’s 180-day time limit for submitting appeals commenced on the date the plaintiff...more
They are the words in-house counsel dread to see in the caption of a new lawsuit: “on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated.” ERISA class actions present special challenges and risks to plan sponsors and...more
In Van Steen v. Life Insurance Company N.A., the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the grant of long-term disability benefits to an employee working part-time....more
Recently, the Sixth Circuit ruled in Hitchcock v. Cumberland University 403(b) Plan that pension plan participants are not required to exhaust their plan’s administrative remedies before pursuing claims alleging statutory...more
After a brief hiatus, Proskauer's ERISA Newsletter is back with a brand new look. We hope you like it and find it is easier to navigate. In addition to implementing our new format, we have moved to a quarterly publication...more
The Sixth Circuit held that retirement plan participants were not required to exhaust their administrative remedies prior to bringing a claim alleging that a plan amendment violated ERISA....more
The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) recently issued a final rule addressing disability benefit claims and appeals (see 81 FR 92316). The rule adds new procedural protections and safeguards meant to ensure disability...more
With President Obama’s recent nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to the U.S. Supreme Court, we thought our loyal readers would be interested to learn a little about Judge...more
We are pleased to present Inside the Courts (Volume 8, Issue 1), Skadden’s securities litigation newsletter. This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between...more
The first Alert in this two-part series discussed three common issues facing out-of-network medical providers in asserting reimbursement claims against employee benefits plan administrators (whether an insurance company or...more