In evaluating occupational disability claims, insurers distinguish between the insured’s job and their occupation. If an employee cannot perform their job, they may still be denied disability insurance benefits if they remain capable of performing their occupation as it is generally performed in the national economy. Polnicky v. Liberty Life Assur.Co. of Boston, 2014 WL […]
A recent ruling from a federal court in Ohio discusses the interplay between the “deemed exhausted” provision of the ERISA claim regulations – 29 C.F.R. Sec. 2560.503-1(l) – and claim administrators’ requests to “toll” the clock on when claim appeals have to be decided. In Gay v. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Group Benefits Program, 2014 […]
Establishing which court will have jurisdiction over an ERISA-governed claim is the first step in litigation. There are many factors that can influence the outcome of a lawsuit, or may even determine whether a case can even be brought. In ERISA cases, often the first issue that needs to be resolved is where the lawsuit […]
The nation’s highest court has agreed to hear a case that considers when pension plan participants under ERISA can sue their plan administrators for mismanagement, even years after the alleged misconduct took place. It is the first case the Supreme Court will hear regarding excessive 401(k) fees. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 […]
SCOTUS will soon decide on whether ERISA trumps state health care database laws. For the first time in almost ten years, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has agreed to hear a case involving an Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1973 (ERISA) claim. The case calls into question whether or not a […]
A recent federal court ruling in Michigan outlined the scope of a provision in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act that exempts “church plans” from being subject to Employee Retirement Income Security Act funding and reporting requirements. In Overall v. Ascension, 2014 WL 1908428, 2014 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 65418 (E.D.Mich. May 13, 2014), the plaintiff brought a […]