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Mealey's ERISA

  • July 15, 2025

    Benefits To Be Reinstated For Claimant In Migraine Disability Lawsuit

    SAN FRANCISCO — On de novo review of the termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits for an employment law firm partner diagnosed with vestibular migraine and tinnitus, a California federal judge found in favor of the claimant and directed that the benefits be retroactively reinstated.

  • July 15, 2025

    Summary Judgment Denied In Disability Benefits Row Involving Notice, Cognition

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — Admitting a declaration that was not part of the administrative record and concluding in part “that procedural irregularities call into question the fairness and clarity of the decision-making process,” a New York federal magistrate judge denied cross-motions in a disability benefits case that involves late notice and a claimant who reportedly has cognitive issues after receiving treatment including radiation for an aggressive form of brain cancer.

  • July 14, 2025

    Colorado Federal Judge Upholds Denial Of Attorney’s COVID-Linked LTD Claim

    DENVER — Ruling against an attorney who unsuccessfully sought long-term disability (LTD) benefits because of fatigue and cognitive issues attributed to long COVID-19, a Colorado federal judge concluded that denial of the claim was not arbitrary and capricious; among other things, the judge said she “cannot conclude that Defendant failed to engage in a meaningful dialogue with Plaintiff.”

  • July 14, 2025

    11th Circuit Sets Argument In Exhaustion Appeal Involving NFL Disability Plan

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has scheduled oral argument for Aug. 13 in an appeal where a former NFL player who argued that he should have been awarded total and permanent (T&P) disability benefits a decade earlier than he was seeks reversal of a dismissal ruling that was based on failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

  • July 11, 2025

    Split 11th Circuit OKs Vacatur Of Arbitration Award Arising From Severance Row

    ATLANTA — In an 11-page per curiam ruling described in a 65-page dissent as doing “the unthinkable,” the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 10 affirmed vacatur of an award that resulted from pro se arbitration over severance pay and concerned an Employee Retirement Income Security Act discrimination claim that the majority concluded the appellant never raised.

  • July 10, 2025

    DOL, Other Amici Urge 9th Circuit To Uphold Dismissal Of ERISA Forfeiture Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — On July 8 and 9, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and other amici curiae opposing revival of a putative class Employee Retirement Income Security Act challenge to a common use of forfeited nonvested matching retirement contributions weighed in on the much-watched Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dispute.

  • July 10, 2025

    Judge OKs Partly Vacating ‘New Interpretation’ Of ERISA Fiduciary Test

    DALLAS — Without substantive explanation, a Texas federal judge on July 9 overruled objections to a June 2023 report and recommendation, thereby vacating part of a 2020 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) “new interpretation” of a test for whether financial professionals are acting as investment advice fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • July 10, 2025

    2nd Circuit Lets ERISA Determination Stand In Deferred Compensation Row

    NEW YORK —  In a July 9 summary order, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed interlocutory cross-appeals on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction in the dispute that involves arbitration and drew four briefs from amici curiae; the appellate court therefore let stand a determination that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act governs the compensation incentive and equity incentive plans at issue in a suit over a Morgan Stanley deferred compensation program.

  • July 10, 2025

    Order Vacated, Case Dismissed In LTD Benefits Row Involving COVID Risk

    SAN FRANCISCO — After vacating an August 2024 order and judgment that were in favor of a pediatrician who sought long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on her high risk of exposure to COVID-19, a California federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice pursuant to the parties’ stipulation.

  • July 09, 2025

    California Federal Magistrate Rules Claimant Eligible For 2 Years Of LTD Benefits

    SAN FRANCISCO — In a decision that involved weighing the opinions of numerous doctors, a California federal magistrate judge ruled that a claimant who held a “demanding managerial” role before saying that anxiety, depression and atypical autism made her unable to work is entitled to long-term disability (LTD) benefits “for the two-year mental disorder benefit period” and is eligible to seek attorney fees.

  • July 09, 2025

    10th Circuit Won’t Award Attorney Fees For Presuit Appeal In LTD Benefits Row

    DENVER — Affirming dismissal of a case filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 8 rejected a bid to make a long-term disability (LTD) insurer pay attorney fees for an administrative appeal that got benefits reinstated.

  • July 08, 2025

    Judge Upholds Denial Of ‘Any Occupation’ LTD Benefits On De Novo Review

    MINNEAPOLIS — Upholding denial of long-term disability (LTD) benefits under an “any gainful occupation” standard on de novo review, a Minnesota federal judge said in part that the denial “was in lockstep with” restrictions on the claimant at the time and that a treating physician’s efforts to retroactively “walk back” those restrictions “do not change things.”

  • July 08, 2025

    Parties Outline Discovery Positions For Phase II Of ESOP Lawsuit

    PHOENIX — Litigation continues in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over a $105 million employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) deal after a bench trial, with a joint filing in Arizona federal court where the parties dispute whether a recreational vehicle company should participate in “Phase II” discovery.

  • July 08, 2025

    Judge Says LTD Plan Must Take Another Look At Denial After Deadline Snafu

    SEATTLE — Ruling that equitable estoppel bars an untimeliness argument against a long-term disability (LTD) claimant who was given an incorrect administrative appeal deadline, a federal judge in Washington concluded that the correct remedy is remand “to the LTD plan administrator for review based on the full record, including the now-available post-denial medical information and literature involving long COVID.”

  • July 07, 2025

    Applying Recent High Court Decision, Judge Grants Limited TRO For Iowa PBM Law

    DES MOINES, Iowa — Noting “the Supreme Court’s recent narrowing of district courts’ ability to impose injunctive relief beyond that which is necessary to afford relief to named parties,” an Iowa federal judge imposed an ex parte temporary restraining order (TRO) barring enforcement of a new Iowa pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) law as to the plaintiffs and the members of one of those plaintiffs; the judge concluded that the plaintiffs sufficiently showed that the provisions “are unenforceable as preempted by [the Employee Retirement Income Security Act] and violative of the First Amendment.”

  • July 07, 2025

    $48.5M Deal Gets Initial OK In ERISA Fees Suit After Federal Jury Verdict

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has preliminarily approved a settlement that would include a $48.5 million payment and other relief in a suit over the record-keeping and administration fees of a multiple employer retirement plan (MEP); in the granted motion, the class of retirement plan participants said the deal would be nearly $10 million higher than the verdict a jury issued in their favor.

  • July 03, 2025

    U.S. High Court Amends Granted Question In ERISA Withdrawal Liability Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on July 3 amended a limited question granted June 30 in an appeal concerning a Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) withdrawal liability decision to match the proposed reformulated question presented by the federal government in an amicus curiae brief urging the high court to grant the petition.

  • July 02, 2025

    $48.5M Deal Is Proposed In ERISA Fees Suit After Federal Jury Verdict

    NEW YORK — Saying the total would be nearly $10 million higher than the verdict a jury issued in their favor, a class of retirement plan participants who challenged the record-keeping and administration fees of a multiple employer retirement plan (MEP) on July 2 asked a New York federal court for preliminary approval of a settlement that would include a $48.5 million payment and other relief.

  • July 02, 2025

    Some Forfeiture, Tobacco Surcharge Claims Survive Dismissal In ERISA Suit

    URBANA, Ill. — Ruling on a dismissal motion in a putative class action involving two recent hot topics in Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation, an Illinois federal judge concluded that key claims regarding the use of forfeited nonvested retirement plan contributions survive but only one claim regarding a health plan’s so-called tobacco surcharge does.

  • July 01, 2025

    Connecticut Federal Judge Upholds LTD Termination Under ‘Any Occupation’ Standard

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Closing a lawsuit filed by a shop fabricator with rheumatoid arthritis and granting judgment in favor of a long-term disability (LTD) insurer, a Connecticut federal judge said that “although this may be a case where a contrary determination would also be supported by substantial evidence,” overall “there was substantial evidence to support [the insurer’s] determination that Plaintiff was not disabled under the ‘Any Occupation’ definition.”

  • July 01, 2025

    Judge Rules For Claimant In LTD Row Involving Own-Occupation Duties

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Ruling on de novo review for a long-term disability (LTD) claimant who has neck and back pain, a Tennessee federal judge ordered retroactive reinstatement of her benefits in the case, resolving issues including what the duties of her regular occupation as a hospital chief clinical officer (CCO) are.

  • June 30, 2025

    Through Criticism, Defendants Win ERISA Proprietary Funds Row After Bench Trial

    BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge who conducted a 10-day bench trial found in favor of defendants in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenging the selection and retention of proprietary funds, saying in part that the class “cannot tie any specific decision to the Committee’s process failures, with one exception” — and failed to show that the exception caused any loss.

  • June 30, 2025

    High Court Seeks Input On ERISA Ruling Concerning Meaningful Benchmarks

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court in a June 30 orders list invited the U.S. solicitor general to provide the federal government’s perspective on a petition to review a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals 2-1 revival of a putative class action over a passively managed Northern Trust Focus Funds suite of target date funds (TDFs); the decision concerns the role benchmarks play in pleading Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims.

  • June 30, 2025

    U.S. High Court Agrees To Tackle Withdrawal Liability Timing Assumptions Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an order list, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 granted a petition for review of a Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) withdrawal liability decision that the federal government filed an amicus curiae brief urging it to grant — but did not reformulate the question presented as the government suggested.

  • June 30, 2025

    U.S. High Court Won’t Review Ruling That ERISA Partly Preempts Oklahoma PBM Law

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the federal government urged in a requested amicus curiae brief, the U.S. Supreme Court in a June 30 order list declined to review a ruling that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and Medicare Part D partially preempt an Oklahoma pharmaceutical benefit manager (PBM) law.