Seyfarth Synopsis: Employer health plan sponsors, administrators, and insurers have been eagerly awaiting the U.S. Department of Labor’s upcoming guidance on mental health parity.  According to recent reports, newly proposed MHPAEA regulations have been sent to the White House for review and their public release is imminent. 

In 2020, Congress amended the Paul Wellstone and

By: Amanda Genovese and Ryan Tikker

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently took a clarifying pencil to certain standards applicable to benefits disputes under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et. seq. (ERISA).  In Carlson, et al. v. Northrop Grumman Severance Plan, et

Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision from the Eastern District of Michigan serves as a reminder that—while courts are often quick to certify classes in ERISA cases—plaintiffs must satisfy the requirements of Rule 23 and that courts can (and do) refuse class certification where those requirements are not met.

In Davis v. Magna International of America

By: Ronald Kramer and Seong Kim

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Another court has found that actuaries who set discount rates for withdrawal liability purposes that are not based upon their “best estimate of anticipated experience” for investments under the plan—in this case, basing the rate assumption only on estimated returns for 40% of the Plan’s assets in

By: Ian Morrison & Jules Levenson

Seyfarth Synopsis: The 7th Circuit recently held that insurers and administrators must provide claimants an opportunity to respond to new information relied on for adverse benefit determinations, even if the claim predated the enactment of the relevant regulation.

In Zall v. Standard Ins. Co., 58 F.4th 284

By: Tom Horan and Sam Schwartz-Fenwick

Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent district court decision highlights the continued uncertainties about what it means to include an arbitration clause in an ERISA plan. While courts generally agree that such clauses are, in theory, enforceable, the extent to which courts will enforce a specific clause remains uncertain given divergent

By: Ryan Tikker

2022 has seen an increase in putative class actions brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (29 U.S.C. §§ 1109 and 1132) against plan fiduciaries. Plaintiffs typically allege that plan fiduciaries breached the duties that ERISA imposes of employee retirement plans, namely, that the fiduciaries breached their duties of loyalty

By: Ryan Tikker

Recently, the Ninth Circuit addressed and further clarified the requirement of a “full and fair review” in the context of a long-term disability benefit case under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In matters that go to litigation, the Ninth Circuit held that a district court may not rely on rationales