In the First Circuit, the proper party defendant in an action concerning ERISA benefits is the party that controls administration of the plan; in other circuits, that’s not so plain. The question to which this is the answer is, who do you sue to recover benefits due under an ERISA governed plan. Here’s a timely
The Hard Headed Business Case for ERISA Preemption of State Health Insurance Mandates
Why does ERISA preemption matter in the health insurance context, and why do many people think it should preclude state health insurance mandates, such as the Wal-Mart law already deemed preempted in Maryland and the San Francisco ordinance that is currently the subject of litigation over the question? Leaving aside the legal reasons why the
A Blog to Pass Along, and Some Thoughts About the Supreme Court’s Interest in ERISA
Lots going on, lots to talk about. Let’s start with this one, which, coincidentally, allows me to kill two birds with one stone. You may recall that some time back I mentioned that I had come across two interesting blogs that I wanted to pass along, one of which was The Float, covering primarily
Back to the Well: Fiduciaries and Subprime Assets
I guess this is the flip side of all the grief that is starting to come down on fiduciaries for excessive – or at least what seems to plaintiffs’ lawyers to be excessive in hindsight – exposure to the subprime mortgage mess in pension and 401(k) holdings: pension plan fiduciaries now adding such exposure to
Back From Trial, But the World Kept Spinning In the Interim
My trial finally concluded late yesterday after two weeks, with the jury returning a verdict in favor of my client (pause here for self-congratulatory pat on the back). While I was able to get some posts up last week, during the first week of trial, events during trial this past week left me with no
More Supreme Court Interest in ERISA Remedies Cases
The Supreme Court continues to look for ERISA cases to serve as vehicles for exploring the current and proper parameters of that statute, and last week requested from the Solicitor General’s office the government’s views on a potential ERISA case for the Court’s docket, Amschwand v. Spherion Corp. This in and of itself is
A Potpourri of Interesting California Insurance Coverage Decisions
Still on trial, but I did have time this afternoon to read this interesting piece, summarizing a number of interesting appellate decisions over the past year from California courts on a range of insurance coverage issues, running from post-claim underwriting of health insurance to the scope of coverage granted by directors and officers policies. The
Gone Fishing – Not Really
Want to Learn More About the Post-LaRue World?
I am trying to kick the LaRue habit, but couldn’t resist going back to the well one more time (how’s that for mixing my metaphors?). I know from readers of this blog and from talking to other lawyers that people are very interested in LaRue and the Supreme Court’s current interest in ERISA cases –
Passing Along an Interesting Blog: Number One
One interesting thing about the LaRue case is the amount of blog commentary it inspired. For me personally, the best aspect of that wasn’t so much what other bloggers had to say about the subject, but more the fact that the discussions brought some blogs to my attention that I had not previously been aware