You know that in ERISA claims where the court is applying the abuse of discretion standard, the court may allow “conflict discovery.” This might include discovery of claims manuals, for example.
But even if the court allows conflict discovery, the court likely may still prohibit Plaintiff from supplementing the administrative record with this discovery…
You know that in ERISA cases most courts typically will limit review to the administrative record, absent special circumstances. Courts may also allow limited discovery when assessing whether a “conflict of interest” affected the claim determination. A conflict of interest can arise, for example, when the insurer of the ERISA governed benefit is both…
