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Statute of Limitations for Contract Actions Applied to an ERISA Appeal of a Denial of Benefits.
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
June 13, 2008

As the result of a January, 2000 motor vehicle accident, Ms. Sonya Pettaway began receiving long-term disability insurance payments from an employment-related policy. When her benefits were terminated in August, 2004 by the plan administrator, she filed an internal appeal. The internal appeal was denied in September, 2005, and two years later she filed a lawsuit, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging unlawful termination of her disability benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

The Defendants eventually moved to dismiss the complaint based upon the applicable District of Columbia three-year statute of limitations for contract actions (ERISA having no limitation in its provisions). The District Court held...

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Third Party Mangers Can Be a Fiduciary Under ERISA
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
June 04, 2008

U.S. District Court Judge Harold Ackerman ruled in Wayne Surgical Center v. Concentra, that the Plaintiff, Wayne Surgical Center, can pursue a claim, under ERISA that the Defendant failed to pay required reimbursement for patient treatments. The Defendant had argued that third-party administrators are not the proper defendants, since the insurance companies control the health plans and pay the reimbursements. Judge Ackerman essentially ruled that...

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Hidden Fees in 401(k) Plans Spur Lawsuits
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
May 27, 2008

Congress and the U.S. Department of Labor are reviewing the hidden fees in 401(k) retirement plans that have been the subject of suits brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The plaintiffs have classified these fees as hidden, because the management fee is often a lump sum that includes the costs of separate services by different providers, which makes it difficult for participants to compare costs among similar plans.

Two recent class action suits filed pursuant to ERISA,...

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11th Circuit addresses ?own occupation? standard in Coca-Cola employee's private disability benefits appeal
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
May 12, 2008

The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Byars v. Coca-Cola Co., 517 F.3d 1256, examined the "Own Occupation" and "Any Occupation" Standards in this Long Term Disability (LTD) Benefits appeal. Lisa Byars was an employee of Coca-Cola for twenty-three years when she was injured while vacationing out of the country. Unable to continue her work, Ms. Byars applied for short term disability pay and received six months of short-term disability pay. Thereafter, Ms. Byars filed a claim with Coca-Cola for LTD benefits. At the time of Ms. Byar's LTD request, Coca Cola's LTD plan was governed by ERISA and was administrated by ReliaStar.

The LTD plan provided benefits....

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Supreme Court permits 401(k) Suits
Posted by: Melville Johnson, P.C.
April 15, 2008

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that Participants in 401(k) retirement plans can sue to recover losses, when their investment instructions are ignored or the account is otherwise mishandled, under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

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ERISA Cash Balance Plans: The New Defined Benefit Plans
Posted by: George M. Johnson
March 01, 2007

Much talk is given to cash balance plans but little is understood about them. In 2003 the U.S. District Court for theSouthern District of Illinois ruled in favor of plan participants claiming age discrimination in Cooper v. IBM Pers. Pension Plan, 274 F. Supp. 2d 1010 (S.D. 111. 2003). The decision set off a sea of controversy. The Seventh Circuit's reversal (457 F.3d 636 (7th Cir. 2006)), combined with recent legislation, left many cash balance proponents breathing sighs of relief and observers puzzled over what the age discrimination claim is and what the court of appeals ruling means to cash balance litigants.

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