A recent ruling from a federal court in Alabama – Rosen v. Provident Life and Accident Insur. Co., 2015 WL 260839 (N.D.Ala. January 21, 2015) addressed a controversial issue involving ERISA preemption. Typically, ERISA is implicated only where an employer sponsors a retirement plan or offers group coverage to its employees for disability, life, or […]
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 […]