Successful Argument for a Favorable De Novo Standard of Review

In Hampton v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, 2020 WL 5946967 (N.D. Ill. October 7, 2020), DeBofsky Law successfully argued for the application of the de novo standard of review to an insurance claim dispute originating under The Boeing’s Company’s Master Welfare Plan. Although the benefits plan contained language reserving discretionary authority to Boeing’s Employee Benefits Committee, Judge John Tharp, Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois ruled that the Committee failed to follow its own procedure for delegating its discretionary authority to its insurer and claims administrator, National Union Fire Insurance Company. As a result, the court will review National Union’s denial of accidental death benefits to John Hampton’s widow under the more favorable de novo standard of review. This ruling has major implications for 199,760 Boeing employees and family members covered under this policy at the time of Mr. Hampton’s death, as well as the hundreds of thousands also covered under Boeing’s life, disability, and health insurance policies also issued through the Master Welfare Plan.