Topic
ERISA Claims
103 published works
Roberts Disability Law Blog
When a Severance Release Does Not Reach Your ERISA Claim: C.D. California Holds a General Release Cannot Waive a Disability Claim That Had Not Yet Accrued
In Cude v. Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, No. 8:25-cv-00123-AH-KESx, 2026 WL 3036131 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 9, 2026), District Judge Anne Hwang of the United States District Court for the…
Roberts Disability Law Blog
ERISA Life Insurance Denial Upheld on a Reading the Court Called “Low on the Reasonableness Scale”
In Richards v. Lifepoint Health Welfare Benefits Plan, No. 3:25-CV-03541-X, 2026 WL 1480796 (N.D. Tex. May 27, 2026), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, per…
Roberts Disability Law Blog
Ninth Circuit Reverses Denial of Health Benefits, Finding UnitedHealthcare Abused Its Discretion by Stonewalling Claimant with Cookie-Cutter Denial Letters and Failing to Produce the Claim File for Over Three Years
In Campbell v. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co., No. 24-5736, No. 25-758, 2026 WL 982848 (9th Cir. Apr. 13, 2026), a Ninth Circuit panel composed of Circuit Judges Tallman, VanDyke, and Tung…
Roberts Disability Law Blog
Sun Life Defeats LTD Claim as Time-Barred: How a Policy’s Choice-of-Law Clause Determined the Limitations Period
In Gordon v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, No. 2:25-CV-11132-TGB-KGA (E.D. Mich. Mar. 31, 2026), United States District Judge Terrence G. Berg granted Sun Life’s motion to dismiss an…
Roberts Disability Law Blog
Fifth Circuit Holds Plan May Compel Arbitration of ERISA § 502(a)(2) Claim but Invalidates Representative-Action Waiver
In Parrott v. International Bancshares Corporation, et al., No. 25-50367, —F.4th—-, 2026 WL 364324 (5th Cir. Feb. 10, 2026), the Fifth Circuit addressed whether an ERISA plan can compel arbitration…
Hall Benefits Law Blog
Federal Court Refines Enforcement Mechanisms for MHPAEA Claims
By Anne Hall
In Perrone v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mich., 2025 WL 2027540 (W.D. Mich. 2025), a group health plan participant sued Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) when it denied his claim for…
Roberts Disability Law Blog
Discovery in ERISA Benefit Claims: What Courts in the Ninth Circuit Allow
When courts review ERISA benefit denials, the standard of review makes all the difference in determining whether discovery will be allowed. Under de novo review, the court asks only one…
Roberts Disability Law Blog
Second Circuit Dismisses Appeal and Rejects Mandamus in Dispute Over Arbitration of ERISA Claims Against Morgan Stanley
In a closely watched dispute between former financial advisors and Morgan Stanley, the Second Circuit issued a procedural ruling that may leave both sides disappointed. In Shafer v. Morgan Stanley,…
Roberts Disability Law Blog
Fifth Circuit Holds Air Ambulance Providers Did Not Have Standing to Bring ERISA Claim Against Health Insurance Company
In Guardian Flight, L.L.C. v. Health Care Serv. Corp., No. 24-10561, —F.4th—-, 2025 WL 1661358 (5th Cir. June 12, 2025), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals considered an appeal of…
The Benefit of Benefits
Ninth Circuit Holds Releases Of ERISA Claims Require Special Scrutiny As Fiduciary Breaches
By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)
On June 5, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment against two employees who had signed fiduciary liability…