Plan Administration Litigation

By: Ada Dolph and Jim Goodfellow

In Becker v. Mays-Williams, No. No. 13–35069 (9th Cir. Jan. 28, 2015), the Ninth Circuit was confronted with the issue of determining whether decedent Asa Williams, a long-time participant in his employer’s ERISA governed retirement savings plans, effectively changed his beneficiary designation from his ex-wife to his son

By: Sam Schwartz-Fenwick, Kylie Byron and Amanda Sonneborn

On Friday, January 16, 2015, the Supreme Court agreed to hear four cases from the Sixth Circuit concerning whether under the Fourteenth Amendment a state can permissibly ban same-sex marriage.  The Court previously side-stepped this issue in its 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor.  In 

By: Ian H. Morrison and Christopher M. Busey

While the debate over Amara and its implications continues, the Eleventh Circuit gave welcome ammunition to ERISA plan administrators and fiduciaries in a recent opinion. In Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan v. Montanile, No. 14-11678 (Nov. 25, 2014), the court

By: Ian Morrison, Sam Schwartz-Fenwick and Abigail Cahak

On August 20, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration announced that it is requesting information on the use and prevalence of brokerage windows in 401(k) and similar plans.

Brokerage windows are a common feature in defined contribution plans (most commonly 401(k)

By: Jon Braunstein and Mark Casciari

In May 2013, CIGNA sued La Peer Surgery Center LLC of Beverly Hills, an out of network surgical provider, alleging that La Peer overbilled hundreds of ERISA health benefit plans administered by CIGNA. CIGNA alleged that La Peer manipulated the plans’ out-of-network rules in order to increase reimbursements.  La

By: Mark Casciari, Isabel Lazar and Abigail Cahak

Defending an ERISA claim is a substantial investment — both of time and money.  One way to ensure dismissal of litigation at an early juncture is by demonstrating that the action is time-barred.  Whether the claim is time-barred turns on when it accrued.

 The Heimeshoff Decision

By: Mark Casciari and Annette Kim

In Killian v. Concert Health Plan, No. 11-1112 (7th Cir. Nov. 7, 2013), the Seventh Circuit en banc reversed the judgment of the district court, holding plaintiff-appellant, James Killian, may pursue a claim for breach of fiduciary duty against his deceased wife’s health care plan.  Mr. Killian

By: Ian Morrison and Jim Goodfellow

Administrators of ERISA plans, especially those attempting to distinguish SSA findings irreconcilable with their own conclusions, should watch this issue carefully.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-Neb.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, recently issued a report outlining what he calls “an enormous and