Eleventh Circuit

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On July 3, 2018, a District Court in Alabama upheld, on reconsideration, its initial decision to dismiss a plaintiff’s breach of fiduciary duty claim under ERISA § 502(a)(3), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3), finding that ERISA § 502(a)(1)(B), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B), provided the plaintiff with an adequate remedy. This decision adds to the growing amount of case law regarding whether—and when—a breach of fiduciary duty claim should be dismissed in benefit claim litigation.
Continue Reading Court Upholds Dismissal of Breach of Fiduciary Claim, Finding Plaintiff Had an Adequate Remedy Under ERISA § 501(a)(1)(B)

In Witt v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 772 F.3d 1269 (11th Cir. 2014), the court answered the question: “what happens when the defendant says it issued a formal denial letter and the plaintiff says he never received the letter, but it is undisputed the defendant terminated benefits and did not pay the plaintiff any benefits for 12 years?”
Continue Reading ERISA Claim Accrues Upon Clear Repudiation of Claim, Even if There is No Formal Denial Letter

In Mead v. Reliastar Life Ins. Co., — F.3d –,  2014 WL 4548868 (2d Cir. Sept. 16, 2014), the district court determined that Reliastar’s decision on plaintiff’s disability claim was arbitrary and capricious, and remanded the matter to Reliastar to calculate the benefits owed for plaintiff’s own-occupation disability, and to determine whether she was disabled from any occupation. Reliastar appealed, and plaintiff moved to dismiss for lack of appellate jurisdiction, arguing that the remand order was not a “final decision” under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. The court noted that it had “never definitively decided whether, or under what circumstances, a district court’s remand to an ERISA plan administrator is immediately appealable.” It held now that it was not appealable.
Continue Reading Second Circuit Evaluates Split in Circuits, and Rules That Order Remanding Claim to Administrator Is Generally Not Appealable

A divided panel on the Eleventh Circuit has imposed on plan administrators “an obligation to consider the evidence presented to the SSA” by the claimant. While it is not particularly novel to hold that an SSDI award must be considered – most circuits require disability claim administrators to consider an SSDI award, or at least to explain why it is not relevant – the Eleventh Circuit seems to have taken the requirement a step further, requiring the administrator to seek out the evidence the SSDI award was based on, and perhaps even delay an adverse decision until the SSDI process is completed.
Continue Reading Must disability claim administrators now obtain the SSDI file in the 11th Circuit?