( August 13, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT) -- PASADENA, Calif. — Adding an unpublished memorandum disposition to the short list of appellate rulings in disability benefits cases involving long COVID, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court that a former underwriter who says he was disabled by cognitive impairments and other symptoms he attributes to long COVID “failed to meet his burden of proof” in seeking long-term disability (LTD) benefits....