This month’s Friday Five covers an appellate ruling on a complicated case raising both state and federal claims, an instance of procedural improprieties in the administrative review process informing the court’s substantive...more
2/10/2025
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Disability ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
Settlement
This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions including the standard of review for ERISA benefit denials, whether structural conflict entitles a claimant to conflict-of-interest discovery, whether a “relative value...more
This month’s Friday Five discusses cases addressing the effect of continuing to receive benefits during the period of alleged disability, reliance on an employer’s records in making a disability determination, the...more
This month’s Friday Five explores decisions from around the country discussing differences between LTD and LWOP policies, the breadth of discretion available to claims administrators and the always important topic of timely...more
This month’s Friday Five covers the treatment of job-related stress in assessing an attorney’s disability, the requirements surrounding the qualifications of a medical professional to review a claimant’s medical records in...more
4/5/2024
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Disabilities ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Long Term Disability Insurance ,
Medical Records ,
Plan Administrators
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to an alleged conflict of interest leading to discovery, two courts’ opposite treatments of subjective pain complaints, a decision that claims of fraud and misrepresentation were...more
This month’s Friday Five explores a decision ordering an IME prior to a ruling on summary judgment motions, the extent claims reporting records can be sealed, the scope of ERISA preemption in the context of removal, and two...more
12/1/2023
/ Denial of Benefits ,
Disabilities ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Medical Leave ,
Plan Administrators ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to a plaintiff’s attempts to seal a complaint seeking disability benefits, an administrator’s uncommunicated decision to discontinue its investigation into certain medical...more
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to the interpretation of time periods for claims under life insurance and disability plans, a situation where three separate administrators handled a disability benefits claim...more
This month’s Friday Five discusses cases that focus on what information properly constitutes the administrative record before the court on which a decision must be based. One case explores the ERISA Records Rule which limits...more
This month’s Friday Five highlights equitable claims under ERISA, the applicability of an arbitration provision that fails to allow for plan-wide remedies, and the ongoing discretion in interpretation and application of...more
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to implied terms in disability definitions, retrieving mistakenly paid pension payments, claims from former beneficiaries who were allegedly and improperly excluded from...more
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to: (1) whether a state statute prohibiting discretionary authority in disability benefit plans applies to non-state residents; (2) how a court may weigh multiple denials and...more
This month’s Friday Five highlights both circuit and district court opinions on the scope of ERISA preemption, discretionary review and exhaustion of administrative remedies....more
This month’s Friday Five covers federal guidelines for extension of ERISA claim deadlines due to the pandemic, as well as cases relating to: whether an expert witness who changes their opinion throughout the course of the...more
This month’s Friday Five discusses cases that address the admissibility of an expert opinion, the calculation of pre-disability earnings, the definition of disability earnings, circumstances where a court will transfer venue...more
This month’s Friday Five addresses a myriad of issues including whether returning to work post-injury automatically invalidates a disability claim, what information an administrator must provide before elevating the opinions...more