Here is a neat post about a decision last week out of the Fourth Circuit concerning when equitable relief can be pursued by a plan participant. Supreme Court precedent already narrowly cabins that type of a claim, and the Fourth Circuit enforced that approach in the case before it, in which the participant tried to
Mike Webster, the NFL and ERISA
They say that professional football is far and away the most successful entertainment business – let alone sports league – in the country, but behind the scenes all is not tea and roses, quite clearly. Anyone who follows the sport knows the physical toll it takes on many of its best players, and a dark
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Law Department
This is insurance – health insurance, anyway – and health insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield will often be provided under an ERISA governed plan. So, although it may not be all that edifying on anything we discuss on this blog, I nonetheless feel obliged to pass along a link to this article, which
Deja Vu All Over Again All Over Again
Jeez, didn’t I just say this same thing, in less words, a few weeks ago? What really bothers me is I don’t know whether I should interpret this as a case of great minds think alike, or as evidence that my original thought, published here, just wasn’t that original (even if it was
Health Savings Accounts, Summary Plan Descriptions and Other Things
A few short notes of interest from a weekend of reading:
• Jerry Kalish has nice things to say about (and agrees with) my recent post concerning the Second Circuit’s decision – correct in my view – precluding summary plan descriptions from trumping the actual plan terms.
• I don’t know quite what to say
More on 401(k) Fees and ERISA
For those of you readers who are interested in the issue of fiduciary liability for excessive 401(k) fees – and who isn’t? – here is more on the subject. I posted before about ways to avoid exposure to these types of claims, and Susan Mangiero has more on that topic here. Meanwhile, Workplace Prof has
OneBeacon and Media Professional Liability Coverage
This is an interesting little article – really a press release from OneBeacon about a new product the company is marketing – about a suite of insurance products targeted at the needs of small to mid-size media companies. Among the product’s constituent parts is media professional liability coverage, which the article points out includes coverage
Fourth Circuit Upholds an Administrator’s Determination that Drunk Driving is Not an Accident
David Rossmiller – who normally runs, as I have noted previously, from ERISA cases as from a basket of snakes – and Day on Torts both have posts today on the Fourth Circuit’s decision upholding an administrator’s denial of accidental death benefits under an ERISA governed plan where the deceased died in an automobile accident
Summary Plan Descriptions and Grants of Discretion
Here is an interesting post concerning a recent decision from the Second Circuit on the impact – there is apparently none in that circuit, given this post and the Second Circuit decision, Tocker v. Phillip Morris Companies, discussed in the post – of an administrator reserving discretion in determining claims for benefits only in the
The Supreme Court, Abatie and Conflicts of Interest
I have written extensively before – including both here and here -about Abatie v. Alta Health, the Ninth Circuit’s relatively recent decision revising that circuit’s approach to structural conflicts of interest and the effect such conflicts should have on the standard of review in denial of benefit cases. The Ninth Circuit’s new rule, I