On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Mar 10, 2020 | Beneficiaries, Employee Benefits News, ERISA, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, ERISA - Statute of Limitations, Insurance Litigation Blog, Legal Articles, Life Insurance, Retirement Plans/Pensions, Waiver & Estoppel
In the March 6, 2020 issue of the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the Daily Journal published an article written by the McKennon Law Group PC’s Robert J. McKennon. The article addresses a recent case by the Supreme Court of the United States, Intel Corporation Investment...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Mar 4, 2020 | Disability Insurance, ERISA, ERISA - Abuse of Discretion, ERISA - Conflict of Interest, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, ERISA - Standard of Review, Insurance Litigation Blog
In a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Bain v. Oxford Health Insurance, 2020 WL 808236, the Court held that it is an abuse of discretion for an insurance company to rely on unreasonable medical necessity guidelines, to...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Jan 23, 2019 | Disability Insurance News, ERISA, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, ERISA - Pension Benefits, ERISA - Statute of Limitations, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog
In pension and savings plan cases, it can often take several years before an employee realizes that there has been a breach of fiduciary duty. Typically, an employee’s financial loss triggers an investigation that later reveals the facts of the breach. But how long...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Nov 6, 2018 | Accidental Death or Dismemberment, ERISA, ERISA - Equitable Relief, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog, Life Insurance, Waiver & Estoppel
In a previous blog, we addressed the doctrines of equitable estoppel and waiver when the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) governs their insurance or pension plan. As we explained, both doctrines provide an insured with methods of forcing an...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Aug 29, 2018 | Annuities, Beneficiaries, ERISA, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog, Pensions, Retirement Plans/Pensions
Many times, employees must sign written employment contracts before beginning a new position. These contracts generally set forth the terms of the relationship between the employer and employee. They also establish both the rights and responsibilities of the two...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Mar 31, 2015 | Case Updates, Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, ERISA, ERISA - Equitable Relief, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog
In December 2013, we published an article highlighting the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ bold decision to award the plaintiff disability benefits plus $2.8 million in disgorged earnings, as a potential “game-changer” in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Jan 13, 2015 | Case Updates, ERISA, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, ERISA - Standing, Firm News
A universal part of the American medical experience is paperwork. Everyone is familiar with visiting a healthcare provider for the first time, filling out history forms and signing pages of documents that they either do not understand or do not care about. The Ninth...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Sep 16, 2014 | ERISA, ERISA - Abuse of Discretion, ERISA - Administrative Record, ERISA - Conflict of Interest, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, ERISA - Standard of Review, Firm News, Health/Medical Insurance
Sometimes an administrator so unashamedly abuses its discretion in handling an insurance claim that its actions constitute a textbook example of “what not to do” for other administrators and the ensuing decision provides a clear illustration of how courts apply an...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Dec 13, 2013 | Case Updates, Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, ERISA, ERISA - Equitable Relief, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog
While this blog often discusses disability, life and health insurance/employee benefit decisions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA “), we rarely discuss federal circuit court of appeal decisions from outside the Ninth Circuit Court of...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Jun 14, 2013 | Case Updates, Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, ERISA, ERISA - Fiduciary Duty, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog
In an interesting opinion concerning a dispute over long-term disability (“LTD”) insurance benefits due under an ERISA plan, a District Court held that an ERISA administrator cannot rely on a contractual limitation period to defeat an insured’s claim where it failed...
