Robert Clarke, a market sales manager for Allstate Insurance Company, stopped working in 1992 due to lumbar spinal stenosis, claiming he was unable to sit, stand, or walk for more than 10 minutes. Mr. Clarke was insured under his company’s group disability plan administered by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and was paid total disability benefits as of 1992. After several back fusion surgeries in 1990, 1992, and 1994, MetLife approved Mr. Clarke’s initial claim for benefits. In 2002, after paying total disability benefits for more than 10 years, MetLife decided to terminate Mr. Clarke’s disability benefits and claim that Mr. Clarke could perform sedentary work.
