Because group disability insurance policies coordinate the benefits payable with benefits paid by other sources such as Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) payments, disability insurers frequently require claimants to apply for such benefits. A recent 1st Circuit opinion, U.S. ex.rel. Loughren v. Unum Group, 2010 U.S.App.LEXIS 15668 (1st Cir. July 29, 2010), dealt with an […]
The issue of which insurer is responsible for paying a claimant’s disability benefits was the subject of Mitchell v. CB Richard Ellis Long Term Disability Plan, 2010 U.S.App.LEXIS 15252 (9th Cir. July 26, 2010). InMitchell, the plaintiff, Michael Mitchell, worked as a commercial real estate broker for CB Richard Ellis for several years until he […]
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a significant ruling involving disability benefits. In Durakovic v. Building Service 32BJ Pension Fund, 2010 U.S.App.LEXIS 12937 (2nd Cir. June 24, 2010), Bejaze Durakovic, a Yugoslavian emigrant with a grade school education, worked as an office cleaner in New York City until she stopped working in […]
A decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reviews the deficiencies of a disability determination.
The case of Cox v. CIGNA Group Insurance, 2010 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 17164 (E.D. Ky., Feb. 24), is illustrative of a pattern suggestive of possible systematic maladministration of disability claims, a finding also made by the California Department of Insurance. California conducted a market conduct study of CIGNA’s disability claim handling and found numerous examples of unfair […]
In Montour v. Hartford Life & Accid.Ins.Co., 2009 U.S.App.LEXIS 20378 (Sep. 14), the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has taken an approach to Glenn v. Metro.Life Ins.Co., 128 S.Ct. 2343 (2008), that requires a court reviewing a benefit decision governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. §1001 et seq., to apply […]