News & Analysis as of

Employee Benefits Abuse of Discretion

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Wit Redux—Again: Ninth Circuit Again Supersedes Its Prior Opinion in Landmark Mental Health Case

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

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Wit Redux: Ninth Circuit Issues New Superseding Opinion in Landmark Mental Health Case

The Ninth Circuit has issued a new opinion in the long-running Wit v. United Behavioral Health litigation that changes the legal landscape for ERISA class actions. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion includes significant holdings on...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Eighth Circuit: Procedural Irregularity Not a “Gateway” to De Novo Review of Administrator’s Decision to Deny Benefits

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In McIntyre v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, 972 F.3d 955 (8th Cir. 2020), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit clarified the standard of review to apply where there has been a denial of...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The 10th Circuit’s New Interpretation of What is Mandated under ERISA’s Notice Requirements May have Far Reaching Effects On Plan...

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Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent 10th Circuit decision holding that in order for the abuse of discretion standard to apply in litigation the claims administrator must provide participants with actual notice of discretionary...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Employee Benefit Plan Review – From the Courts

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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

Robinson+Cole ERISA Claim Defense Blog

Remand Directing Change in Standard of Judicial Review Is Not Sufficient Success on the Merits to Support Attorneys’ Fee Award

In Ariana M. v. Humana Health Plan of Texas, Inc., No. 18-20700, 2019 WL 5866677 (5th Cir. Nov. 8, 2019), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a plaintiff’s petition for attorneys’ fees under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g).  This...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Ninth Circuit Concludes Domestic Partner Entitled To Benefits

The Ninth Circuit concluded that a plan fiduciary abused its discretion in denying survival benefits to a pension plan participant’s domestic partner. In so ruling, the Court explained that the plan’s choice of law provisions...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Ninth Circuit Rules that a Domestic Partner Under California State Law Was a Spouse for an ERISA Plan

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In an unpublished decision dated May 16, 2019, the Ninth Circuit held that a plan administrator abused its discretion by denying surviving spouse benefits under an ERISA retirement benefit plan to a participant’s domestic...more

Saul Ewing LLP

The Friday Five: Five Current ERISA Litigation Highlights – February 2019

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This month's Friday Five brings a quartet of court of appeals decisions: a pair from the Ninth Circuit relating to standard of review, an Eighth Circuit decision upholding a mental illness limitation, and a Sixth Circuit case...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

The Need for Clarity: Standard of Review

In Griffin v. Hartford Life & Acc. Ins. Co., 898 F.3d 371 (4th Cir. 2018), the Fourth Circuit addressed the issue of whether a related company of an entity that enjoyed the abuse of discretion standard also was entitled to...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

ERISA & Employee Benefits Alert: October 2018

Welcome to the first edition of ERISA & Employee Benefits Alert. Our ERISA and Managed Care Group will be providing curated insights and news concerning notable ERISA and managed care issues that highlight current or emerging...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Eighth Circuit Upholds ESOP Administrator's Decision on Death Benefit Claim

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• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a U.S. District Court's application of deferential standard to the review of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) administrator's decision based on broad...more

Kilpatrick

A Recent 5th Circuit ERISA Decision is Not as Far Reaching as it Appears

Kilpatrick on

To reduce the cost of maintaining an ERISA plan and reduce the expense of ERISA litigation, it is helpful to have courts both apply a deferential standard of review and limit the review to the administrative record. If an...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Timing is Everything: Tenth Circuit Overturns Insurer’s Disability Decision as Arbitrary and Capricious

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Even when a claims administrator approves a claim for disability benefits, its job is not done. That principle was again demonstrated in the recent case Owings v. United of Omaha Life Insurance Co., No. 16-3128 (10th Cir....more

Carlton Fields

Fifth Circuit Vacates Settlement Approval in ERISA Class Action, Remanding With Instructions to Reexamine the Legitimacy of...

Carlton Fields on

The Fifth Circuit recently vacated a class action settlement that included unsecured and uncollateralized future payments to the plaintiffs, while providing a swift and complete payout of fees to class counsel. The case...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Plotting A Course To Defeat Claims Of Insurer Bias

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Seyfarth Synopsis: In a strong decision for insurers, the Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the administrator, rejected plaintiff’s conflict of interest argument, and found that it was not arbitrary for the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Fifth Circuit: Discretionary Ban Does Not Mandate De Novo Review

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In Ariana M. v. Humana Health Plan of Texas, Inc., No. 16-20174 (5th Cir. Apr. 21, 2017), the Firth Circuit concluded that Texas’ ban on discretionary clauses in certain insurance policies did not require a de novo review of...more

Jackson Walker

Reasonable Fee Issues for Fiduciaries on the Horizon

Jackson Walker on

The Supreme Court is poised to address whether fiduciaries' decisions—especially in using fee sharing arrangements—are subject to deference when challenged. The Eighth and Ninth Circuit courts recently decided these issues,...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

The Fourth Circuit Opens the Door to Extrinsic Evidence in Considering a Claim for Employee Benefits

Womble Bond Dickinson on

Executive Summary: The Fourth Circuit expands the scope of admissible evidence in an ERISA employee benefits case. The very first principle applied in a lawsuit for benefits from an ERISA-governed employee benefit plan...more

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