Topic
Every decision we've filed under ERISA / Employee Benefits.
The Ninth Circuit vacated a district court judgment on the pleadings and remanded with instructions to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiffs failed to establish Article III standing. The court affirmed a Rule 11 sanctions order against the appellants, finding the complaint legally and factually baseless.
The Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging an earlier effective date for accrued veterans benefits because the appellant failed to present a valid legal issue within the court's jurisdiction. The court determined that the claimant's arguments amounted to factual disagreements rather than challenges to the validity of statutes or regulations.
The Sixth Circuit reversed the dismissal of ERISA claims alleging that pension plans used outdated mortality data to calculate benefits for married participants. The court held that the statutory requirement for actuarial equivalence prohibits the use of unreasonable, inapplicable actuarial assumptions that fail to reflect modern life expectancies.
The Fourth Circuit reversed and vacated a district court's class certification order in an ERISA fiduciary breach case involving a defined contribution plan. The court held that individualized monetary claims in such plans cannot be joined in a mandatory class under Rule 23(b)(1) and that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate commonality.
The Third Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that barred a pension fund from collecting withdrawal liability because it failed to notify the employer as soon as practicable. The court held that this timeliness requirement is an independent statutory element of the claim, not a waivable defense subject to mandatory arbitration.
The First Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that a partially completed beneficiary designation form under the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Act was valid. The court held that the statutory requirement of a signed and witnessed writing was met, and the appellant failed to provide medical evidence proving the insured lacked mental capacity.
The Seventh Circuit reversed a district court ruling that applied the substantial compliance doctrine to validate a decedent's fax request to change a retirement beneficiary. The appellate court held that sending a fax did not constitute the positive action required by the plan's strict terms, leaving the ex-wife as the rightful primary beneficiary.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the District Court's denial of broad post-judgment discovery and equitable accounting requests, finding no abuse of discretion. The court held that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate significant questions regarding the defendant's compliance with a long-standing ERISA injunction.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration in an ERISA case involving a terminated employee stock ownership plan. The court held that the plan's arbitration provision was unenforceable because it prohibited plaintiffs from seeking plan-wide relief, thereby prospectively waiving substantive statutory rights under ERISA.
The Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment, holding that an insurance company's interpretation of a preexisting condition exclusion was unreasonable. The court ruled that medical treatment for symptoms does not constitute treatment for a specific disease if neither the patient nor the doctors suspected that disease at the time.