The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided S. v. Premera Blue Cross, No. 22-4056, __F.4th__, 2024 WL 4356319 (10th Cir. Oct. 1, 2024), a case involving claims for mental health treatment benefits under ERISA, alleged violations of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (the Parity Act), and statutory penalties for […] The post Tenth Circuit Finds Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Bring Parity Act Claim and Affirms Award of ERISA Statutory Penalties Against Health Insurance Company appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In Knudsen v. MetLife Grp., Inc., No. 23-2420, __F.4th__, 2024 WL 4282967 (3d Cir. Sept. 25, 2024), Plaintiffs are former employees of MetLife Group, Inc. and participants in the MetLife Options & Choices Plan (the “Plan”). In a putative class action seeking to represent all participants and beneficiaries of the Plan since January 24, 2017 […] The post Third Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Putative ERISA Class Action Alleging MetLife Unlawfully Kept $65 Million in Drug Rebates for Its Own Benefit appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In Loc. No. 499, Bd. of Trustees of Shopmen’s Pension Plan v. Art Iron, Inc., No. 22-3925, __F.4th__, 2024 WL 4297674 (6th Cir. Sept. 26, 2024), Defendants Robert and Mary Schlatter appeal from the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Board of Trustees of the Shopmen’s Local 499 Pension Plan (“the Plan”) in […] The post Sixth Circuit Reverses Withdrawal Liability Judgment Against Spouse of Sole Shareholder Who Ran Jewelry Business appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In Sherman v. Medmutual Life Ins. Co., No. 5:23CV2313, 2024 WL 4240137 (N.D. Ohio Sept. 19, 2024), Ohio Northern District Judge Christopher A. Boyko granted judgment in favor of Defendant MedMutual under an abuse of discretion standard, finding that the insurer reasonably concluded that intoxication was a significant condition contributing the decedent’s accident and death. […] The post District Court Finds Insurer Properly Denied Claim for AD&D Benefits Due To Decedent’s Intoxication Which Contributed To The Vehicle Accident appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In Kris B. v. Life Insurance Company of North America, No. 3:22-cv-03717-RFL (N.D. Cal. Sept. 12, 2024), on cross-motions for judgment pursuant to FRCP Rule 52, California Northern District Rita F. Lin entered judgment in favor of LINA finding that Plaintiff failed to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that she was totally disabled […] The post District Court Finds ERISA Plaintiff Did Not Satisfy Burden of Demonstrating Total Disability from Sedentary Occupation appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In Dwyer v. United Healthcare Ins. Co., No. 23-50439, __F.4th__, 2024 WL 4230125 (5th Cir. Sept. 19, 2024), the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment in favor of United Healthcare in this nine-year dispute over the payment of partial-hospitalization benefits for a minor who suffered from anorexia nervosa. In so doing, the court described […] The post Fifth Circuit Orders United Healthcare to Pay for Minor’s Partial-Hospitalization Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In Dunne v. Elton Corporation, et al., No. 23-1499, 2024 WL 4224619 (3d Cir. Sept. 18, 2024), the Third Circuit decided a dispute over pension benefits promised by the matriarch of the duPont family, Mary Chichester duPont, when she established a trust in the 1940s to pay pension benefits to certain domestic employees who worked […] The post Third Circuit Holds that duPont Family Did Not Create an ERISA Retirement Plan for Certain Domestic Employees appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In Wicks v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, No. 23-11247, 2024 WL 4212891 (5th Cir. Sept. 7, 2024), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Metropolitan Life Insurance Company’s denial of accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) benefits, finding that the terms of the ERISA plan, the administrative record, and the applicable law supports the district court’s […] The post Fifth Circuit Upholds MetLife’s Denial of Accidental Death Benefits Where Morbid Obesity Contributed to Insured’s Death appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In Cogdell v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, No. 1:23-cv-01343 (E.D. Va. Sept. 11, 2024), on cross-motions for judgment pursuant to FRCP Rule 52, Virginia Eastern District Judge Anthony J. Trenga granted judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company finding that Plaintiff demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that she […] The post District Court Finds Reliance Standard Erred in Denying Plaintiff’s Long-Term Disability Claim Due to The Effects of Long-COVID appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more

In McIver v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, et al., No. 23-55306, 2024 WL 4144075 (9th Cir. Sept. 11, 2024), an unpublished decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded this case involving allegations that the Boeing Company, Employee Benefit Plans Committee (“EBPC”), and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company breached their fiduciary duties with respect to Plaintiff’s denied […] The post Ninth Circuit Revives Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Boeing for Failing to Investigate Dependent Life Insurance Coverage appeared first on Roberts Disability Law, P.C ..read more