This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to: (1) whether claim administrators can recover overpayments through a breach of contract claim under state law; (2) whether claim administrators can rely solely on a claimant’s...more
This month’s Friday Five discusses cases that explore some fundamental principles of disability benefit litigation. While players and fans return to the favorite fall pastime of football, albeit in the “new normal” under...more
In Kaviani v. Reliance Std. Life Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3006 (11th Cir. Jan. 31, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit held that an insurer had failed to give sufficient credence to a claimant's self-reports of pain and...more
In Demko v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31102 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2019), the Ninth Circuit affirmed Unum Life's determination that a Hollywood executive diagnosed with fibromyalgia was not disabled from...more
When an employee tests positive for illegal drug use or self-discloses such use, many employers condition return to work on the employee’s participation in a substance abuse treatment program. These programs can include drug...more
One of the most important components of the employment relationship is the benefits package an employer is able to offer its employees. Employee benefits have to make business sense for the employer because there’s always a...more
Although the Army Ammunition Depot is located in McAlester, it was a Muskogee federal court that upheld an employer’s right to require adequate medical support before granting an employee’s request their job be modified on...more