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
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
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