In Glaud v. NFL Player Disability and Survivor Benefit Plan, No. 25-cv-15373-ESK-EAH, 2026 WL 2664386 (D.N.J. Sept. 10, 2026), United States District Judge Edward S. Kiel dismissed with prejudice two ERISA breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims against the physicians who reviewed a
Roberts Disability Law Blog
Roberts Disability Law Blog, published by Roberts Disability Law, focuses on legal issues related to disability insurance claims, particularly under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The blog covers topics such as long-term and short-term disability benefits, wrongful denial of claims, fiduciary duties, arbitration in ERISA disputes, and litigation strategies against insurance companies. It also addresses related areas including life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) claims, severance benefits, and specific conditions like long-haul COVID. The blog provides analysis of court decisions, procedural standards, and practical guidance for claimants navigating disability benefit disputes.
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Can ERISA Claimants Sue Anonymously? A Court’s Measured Answer in a Mental Health Treatment Denial Case
In J.W. v. Quantum Health, Inc., 2026 WL 2654147 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 9, 2026), United States Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Jolson confronted a question that ERISA claimants pursuing mental health benefits increasingly face: whether they can litigate a denied…
Federal Reserve Disability Plan Falls Outside ERISA, But Court Applies ERISA-Style Review to Reverse Denial of Long-Term Disability Benefits
In Taylor v. Long Term Disability Income Plan for Employees of the Federal Reserve System, 2026 WL 2607035 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 3, 2026), United States District Judge Louis L. Stanton denied the defendants’ motion for judgment on the administrative record…
ERISA Long-Term Disability Denial Reversed: Utah Court Remands Equitable’s Termination for Ignoring Evidence of Claimant’s Mental Condition
In Pickering v. Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America, 2026 WL 2606603 (D. Utah Sept. 3, 2026), United States District Judge Tena Campbell resolved cross-motions for summary judgment in an ERISA action challenging the termination of long-term disability…
California Court Denies ERISA Disability Benefits Despite Undisputed Tinnitus and Depression Diagnoses
In Camp v. Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, No. 25-cv-06199-AMO, 2026 WL 2608200 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 3, 2026), Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied Plaintiff’s motion for judgment and…
Eleventh Circuit Holds Aetna Did Not Act Arbitrarily and Capriciously in Terminating Disability Benefits After Claimant Failed to Provide Proof of Income Over Seven Requests
In Pankey v. Aetna Life Insurance Company, No. 25-11338, 2026 WL 2606845 (11th Cir. Sept. 3, 2026), a per curiam opinion, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Aetna Life Insurance Company, upholding the…
When an ERISA Beneficiary Change by Phone Call Fails: N.D. Alabama Enforces the Plan’s Written-Designation Requirement and Voids a Bigamous Marriage
In Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Williams, No. 4:24-cv-00357-CLM, 2026 WL 2569485 (N.D. Ala. Aug. 31, 2026), an ERISA interpleader case over a General Motors life insurance policy, District Judge Corey L. Maze held that a participant’s attempt to…
When ERISA’s Venue Rules Send Your Case Somewhere Else: Two District Courts Transfer ERISA Claims Away From the Plaintiff’s Chosen Forum
Two district courts issued ERISA venue rulings within a day of each other, and both moved the case out of the forum the plaintiff picked. In Andersen v. Medical Solutions, L.L.C., 2026 WL 2574368 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2026),…
Ninth Circuit Holds Substantial Compliance Doctrine Applies to ERISA Benefit Elections, Not Just Beneficiary Designations, and Reverses Dismissal of Dying Participant’s Pension Claim
In Liu v. Kaiser Permanente Employees Pension Plan for the Permanente Medical Group, Inc., No. 24-4303, — F.4th —-, 2026 WL 2562029 (9th Cir. Aug. 31, 2026) (Before: Paez, Bea, and Forrest, Circuit Judges), the Ninth Circuit reversed the…
ERISA Long-Term Disability Denial Upheld: Eighth Circuit Affirms Unum Termination Where Treating Doctor’s Own Records Supported Sedentary Work
In Halloran v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, No. 25-2550, — F.4th —, 2026 WL 2545315 (8th Cir. Aug. 28, 2026), a panel of Chief Judge Colloton and Circuit Judges Gruender and Kobes, with Judge Kobes writing, affirmed…