Recently, the Ninth Circuit addressed and further clarified the requirement of a “full and fair review” in the context of a long-term disability benefit case under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In matters that go to litigation, the Ninth Circuit held that a district court may not rely on rationales that the plan administrator did not raise as grounds for denying a claim for benefits. By failing to make arguments during the administrative process, but raising them for the first time at litigation, this can be found to be a violation of the “full and fair review” afforded by ERISA.
In Collier v. Lincoln Life Assurance Co. of Boston, 53 F.4th 1180 (9th Cir. 2022) the Ninth Circuit considered an appeal under the ERISA of a plan administrator Lincoln Life Assurance Company of Boston’s denial of her claim for long-term disability benefits. The participant Collier pursued an internal appeal after Lincoln denied her claim for LTD benefits. Lincoln again denied her claim. On de novo review, Judge James Selna of the Central District of California affirmed the administrator’s denial of her claim, finding that Collier was not credible and that she had failed to supply objective medical evidence to support her claim. The district court concluded that because a court must evaluate the persuasiveness of conflicting testimony and decide which is more likely true on de novo review, credibility determinations are inherently part of its review.
Apparently not so. The participant appealed, and the Ninth Circuit reversed, finding that the district court adopted new rationales that the plan administrator did not rely upon during the administrative process. The Ninth Circuit expressly held a district court clearly errors by adopting a newly presented rationale when applying de novo review.
The Ninth Circuit clarified that when a district court reviews de novo a plan administrator’s denial of benefits, it examines the administrative record without deference to the administrator’s conclusions to determine whether the administrator erred in denying benefits. It wrote that the district court’s task is to determine whether the plan administrator’s decision is supported by the record, not to engage in a new determination of whether the claimant is entitled to benefits. Id. at 1182.
The plaintiff Collier worked as an insurance sales agent when she experienced persistent pain in her neck, shoulders, upper extremities, and lower back, which she contended limited her ability to type and sit for long periods of time. She underwent surgery on her right shoulder and later returned to work, where she claimed that she continued to experience persistent pain. After applying for workers compensation, which recommended her employer institute ergonomic accommodations for Collier to allow her to work with less pain, Collier eventually stopped working, citing her reported pain as the cause.
After engaging in the administrative appeal process with Lincoln, she filed suit in the Central District of California. For the first time in its trial briefs, Lincoln argued that the participant was not credible. It further argued that her doctor’s conclusions were not supported by objective evidence, as they relied upon her subjective account of pain. Finally, Lincoln argued that her restriction could be accommodated with ergonomic equipment, such as voice-activated software. Id. at 1184.
As this was an ERISA action for LTD benefits, the administrative record was the only documentary evidence admitted by the district court. Judge Selna issued a findings of fact and conclusions of law affirming Lincoln’s denial of LTD benefits. Reviewing the decision de novo, Judge Selna concluded that Collier failed to demonstrate she was disabled under the terms of the plan. The court adopted Lincoln’s reasoning in determining she was not disabled, namely relying upon a finding that Collier’s pain complaints were not credible and that she failed to support her disability with objective medical evidence.
In reversing the decision by the district court, the Ninth Circuit wrote that a plan administrator “undermines ERISA and its implementing regulations when it presents a new rationale to the district court that was not presented to the claimant as a specific reason for denying benefits during the administrator process.” The Ninth noted it has “expressed disapproval of post hoc arguments advanced by a plan administrator for the first time in litigation.” Id. at 1186.
While the Ninth Circuit has held that a plan administrator may not hold in reserve a new rationale to present in litigation, it has not clarified whether the district court clearly errs by adopting a newly presented rationale when applying de novo review. It explicitly does so now, finding that a “district court cannot adopt post-hoc rationalizations that were not presented to the claimant, including credibility-based rationalizations, during the administrative process.” Id. at 1188.
The Collier ruling places strict mandates on plan administrators to specifically and expansively delineate the bases for denials at the administrative stage. Simply stating that a claimant does not meet a policy definition, such as the disability standard under the applicable plan, is now not enough.
