( November 14, 2025, 9:34 AM EST) -- SAN FRANCISCO — Issues including assessing differing medical opinions and whether new reasons for denial of long-term disability (LTD) benefits were improperly raised during a bench trial are disputed in Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals briefs in the case of a former underwriter who says he was disabled by cognitive impairments and other symptoms he attributes to long COVID....