When people start emailing you to inquire about your health, you know you have been away from your blog too long. Rumors of my demise, however, were premature, as I was simply on vacation; normally I keep up with developments and am able to put up some posts while away, but I didn’t get a
Conflicts of Interest
Notes for a Friday
By Stephen Rosenberg on
What Effect Does MetLife v. Glenn Have on Discovery in Denial of Benefit Claims?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Apparently none, at least according to the first ruling on this question I have seen out of a court in the First Circuit. In a ruling by a magistrate judge, the United States District Court for the District of Maine has concluded that MetLife v. Glenn does not change the rules in the First Circuit…
On Intoxication and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Policies
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I wrote a long time back about Stamp v. MetLife, a decision out of the United States District Court for Rhode Island on a particular, oft litigated, and unfortunately frequently repeated fact pattern: namely, whether an unwitnessed automobile accident causing death of an apparently intoxicated driver constituted an accident for purposes of ERISA governed…
From Preemption to ERISA Standing, and Lots of Things In-Between
Philadelphia, New York, court hearings – I have been everywhere the past week or so other than at my desk where I could put up blog posts. Here’s a run down of interesting things I came across along the way that you may want to read. First, for those of you who can’t get enough…
The Supreme Court’s Ruling in MetLife v. Glenn
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Conflicts of Interest
How dare the Supreme Court issue a major ERISA ruling while I am tied up in court this morning! How inconsiderate of my schedule. Given that there are only a few of us blogging regularly on these issues, seems to me the least the Court could have done is coordinate the release of its opinion…
Why Structural Conflicts of Interest, Standing Alone, Are Irrelevant
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Conflicts of Interest, Standard of Review
Workplace Prof passes along today this opinion out of the Seventh Circuit by Judge Easterbrook addressing the question of structural conflicts of interest and their effect on the standard of review in ERISA governed benefit cases. Anyone who has read the bulk of my past posts on this subject knows that I do not buy…
Some Thoughts on the Oral Argument in MetLife v. Glenn
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Conflicts of Interest, Standard of Review
MetLife v Glenn in a Nutshell
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Conflicts of Interest
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court is holding oral argument in MetLife v. Glenn, the case that will supposedly tell us once and for all what the effect is on ERISA litigation when the party who has to pay ERISA governed benefits is also the one who decides whether to pay those benefits. Given the…
Supreme Court to Weigh In on Structural Conflicts of Interest
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Conflicts of Interest, Standard of Review
I suggested some time ago that the Supreme Court looked poised to weigh in on some of the more tempestuous ERISA issues floating around the circuit courts of appeal, and there is probably no single issue that has raised more hackles than the question of so-called structural conflicts of interest, which exists when the administrator…