I wanted to pass this along while the electronic brochure was still (fairly) hot off the metaphorical presses and cooling off in my in-box. Here’s the information for West Legalworks’ 20th Annual ERISA Litigation Conference, held in, well, probably the three best places you could pick: Florida in February, and California and New York City
The Joint Defense Privilege in Massachusetts, With a Little Insurance Thrown In For Good Measure
Here’s a dog bites man story: the joint defense privilege exists in Massachusetts. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the topic, the joint defense privilege allows parties on the same side of the dispute in a multiparty litigation to share information amongst themselves and their various attorneys without waiving the attorney client privilege.
A Clear Signal on ERISA, the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act and Criminal Restitution Orders in the First Circuit
Here’s a curious case out of the First Circuit yesterday that is, and isn’t, about ERISA, but hints at how the First Circuit would handle a particular issue of some importance with regard to ERISA’s protection of retirement benefits. I have talked in the past about a decision out of the Ninth Circuit a few
Misrepresentations Under ERISA Plans: Is There A Cause of Action?
Here’s an interesting case out of the First Circuit this week concerning an attempt to use an equitable estoppel theory to force a plan to pay supplemental life insurance benefits even though the former employee covered by the plan had not submitted the necessary health forms to qualify for that coverage. The case, Todisco v.
I Got Them Low Down No Good Pension Blues
On the first Monday morning in August I expect things to lighten up with lots of people on vacation and the like, so I scheduled a breakfast meeting this morning right in the middle of one of Massachusetts’ most congested highways (well, not really in the middle of the highway, more like at a restaurant
Life Insurance, Good Health, and the Reasonable Expectations Doctrine
Wow, here is a great insurance coverage story out of the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, concerning a state trial court decision over the impact of a particular clause in a life insurance policy. The case involved a life insurance policy containing a clause under which the policy only became effective if the insured was in
Functional Fiduciaries in the First Circuit
I am kind of fond of this recent disability benefits case out of the United States District Court for the District of Maine for one particular reason, namely its discussion of functional fiduciaries, and thought I would pass it along as a result. Confronted with the question of whether Metropolitan Life, the administrator, was a
The Five Factor Test for Attorney’s Fee Awards Under ERISA
Here’s a nice follow up ruling in the case of Curran v Camden National, a particularly interesting ERISA case that I discussed here. In this newest ruling, the United States District Court for the District of Maine denied the motion of the defendant – which had earlier successfully moved to dismiss the
Electronic Discovery and the Hearsay Rule
I like this article here about a judge’s extensive evidentiary analysis of the admissibility of electronically generated data, in particular the fact that the judge found that certain types of computer generated data are not subject in any manner, shape or form to the rule against hearsay. As the article sums up the judge’s point:
The Interrelationship of Suits for Benefits and for Breach of Fiduciary Duty Under ERISA
If it seems like I have been digressing a lot these past couple of weeks off of the primary topics of this blog and into other areas that interest me – such as the billable hour system – or that I practice in, like intellectual property litigation, it is because the courts of the