ERISA Standard of Review

The Importance of Judicial Standards of Review in ERISA Litigation

by Mark Debofsky | May 20, 2025 | ERISA, ERISA Standard of Review

Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) law to protect . . . participants in employee benefit plans and their beneficiaries, by requiring the disclosure and reporting to participants and beneficiaries of financial and other information with respect thereto, by establishing standards of conduct, responsibility, and obligation for fiduciaries of employee benefit plans, and by providing for appropriate remedies, sanctions, and ready access to the Federal Courts. […]

Physical, not Mental, Ailments Form Basis for Disability Claim

by Mark Debofsky | Aug 9, 2024 | ERISA, ERISA Standard of Review

In cases brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the standard of judicial review applied by the district court is critical to the outcome of the litigation, and when the district court makes factual findings, courts of appeals review those findings under the clear error standard. […]

6th Circ. ERISA Ruling Highlights Dubious Court Practices

by Mark Debofsky | Nov 17, 2021 | ERISA, ERISA Standard of Review

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act permits aggrieved individuals whose employee benefit claims have been denied to bring a civil action to recover benefits claimed to be due […]

5th Circ. Opinion Is Right To Question ERISA Review Norms

by Mark Debofsky | Oct 6, 2021 | ERISA, ERISA Standard of Review, Health Benefits

A concurrence to a Sept. 22 opinion issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit[1] in a case involving a health insurance raises serious concerns about the manner in which courts review benefit claim denials under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act […]

How Ambiguity Can Expand Employee Insurance Coverage

by Mark Debofsky | Mar 16, 2021 | ERISA Standard of Review, Long Term Disability

What is contra proferentem? Carlile v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co.[1] is a textbook illustration of the doctrine that construes ambiguities in insurance policies in favor of the insured and against the insurer. In February, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District […]

ERISA ruling shows daunting review standard for claimants

by Mark Debofsky | Sep 9, 2020 | ERISA, ERISA Standard of Review

The most critical issue in Employee Retirement Income Security Act benefits litigation is the standard of judicial review applied by the courts. Under the deferential arbitrary and capricious standard of review, the court reviews a claim record compiled by the insurance company[1] to determine whether a claim denial was “downright unreasonable”[2] and not merely wrong. Because […]