An ERISA plan administrator must, if requested by a claimant contesting an adverse benefits determination, produce a copy of an audio recording or transcript of a telephone conversation between the claimant and a plan...more
Hinshaw's LHD/ERISA Advisor remains committed to bringing you recent legal developments that may guide your life, health, and disability litigation strategy and claims decisions....more
As we look ahead to 2021, we start our second edition of Hinshaw's LHD/ERISA Advisor by reporting on key cases that closed out 2020. Through The Advisor, our team of attorneys nationwide strive to report on legal developments...more
As we enter the final months of 2020, this is a time to reflect on a year of unprecedented challenges. Although Covid-19 changed our lives in many ways, it did not halt new legal developments in the life, health and...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
In Lyn M. v. Premera Blue Cross, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 23395 (10th Cir. July 24, 2020), the Tenth Circuit held that a district court had applied the wrong standard of review and incorrectly evaluated an ERISA plan...more
10/14/2020
/ Appeals ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Dependents ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Medical Necessity ,
Mental Health ,
Plan Administrators ,
Reversal ,
Reversible Error ,
Standard of Review ,
Summary Judgment
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
2/12/2020
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Appeals ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equitable Relief ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Long Term Disability Insurance ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Notice Prejudice Rule ,
Plan Administrators ,
Reaffirmation ,
Right To Appeal ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Substantial Compliance
In Gorbacheva v. Abbott Laboratories Extended Disability Plan, et al., 29 U.S. App. LEXIS 36542 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 10, 2019), the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's award of attorneys' fees to an ERISA claimant as...more
2/5/2020
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disability Insurance ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Plan Administrators ,
Prevailing Party ,
Rejection of Settlement Offers ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Settlement Offer