You already know that ERISA imposes on employers the duty to provide a written plan document, and a Summary Plan Description (SPD) which states key plan terms.
And… Supreme Court precedent is clear that Summary Plan Descriptions “do not themselves constitute the terms of the plan for purposes of [ERISA].” CIGNA Corp. v Amara,…
You already know that ERISA gives plan beneficiaries a choice on where to bring suit seeking ERISA benefits. Section 1132(e)(2) allows plan beneficiaries to bring suit “in the district where the plan is administered, where the breach took place, or where a defendant resides or may be found….”
But what happens when the…
Plaintiffs in ERISA employee benefit cases are frequently asserting breach of fiduciary duty claims, and then seeking broader discovery.
So, consider early motions to dismiss the breach of fiduciary duty claims.
One argument to use in seeking early dismissal of breach of fiduciary duty claims is the ministerial defense: That is because “[a] person…
You know that in typical ERISA disability benefit claims, the claim administrator first determines whether claimant’s disability prevents the claimant from performing claimant’s current, “own occupation.”
Then, after a period of time (52 weeks for example), the claims administrator assesses whether the claimant can perform “any occupation.” If the claimant can perform “…
You already know that most ERISA plans allow the Plan to reduce or offset long term disability payments by amounts the disabled worker receives from workers compensation or Social Security.
But it is trickier when you try to offset payments received from lump sum personal injury settlements. Some ERISA Plans have “presumed allocation for…
An issue dogging claims administrators is:
What effect do choice-of-law provisions have on the standard of review of ERISA benefit decisions?
And, what happens when the plain language of the ERISA plan confers abuse of discretion standard of review, but state law renders such language unenforceable, requiring de novo review?
Here’s the case of…
On June 5, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the scope of ERISA’s church-plan exemption in the case of Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, — S. Ct. –, 2017 WL 2407476 (2017). The unanimous decision adopted a broad reading of the exemption to apply not only to plans originally established by churches, but also to plans maintained by certain church-affiliated organizations…
Continue Reading ERISA: New Questions for Church-Affiliated Organizations After The Supreme Court Expands ERISA Church-Plan Exemption
This just in…
Today the U.S. Supreme Court broadened the application of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s religious exemption provision.
The exemption now applies to benefit plans maintained by church affiliates, regardless of whether an actual church established the plan. Advocate Health Care Network, Saint Peter’s Healthcare System and Dignity Health were before…
How do you respond to typical arguments by those seeking ERISA-governed disability benefits that the claim administrator:
-“cherry-picked the record”;
-ignored the social security disability determination;
-improperly considered claimant’s vacation travel;
-made inconsistent determinations?
Here’s the case of Chen v. CenturyLink, 2017 WL 219008 (D. Colo. May 18, 2017)(attached), with quick rebuttals to those…
Don’t forget that ….
judicial estoppel can require dismissal of a claimant’s suit for ERISA-governed long term disability (LTD) benefits if the claimant failed to list the “potential cause of action” in bankruptcy filings.
The key is to determine when the “potential cause of action” accrued. And a recent case says those claims “accrue” when …
