On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Sep 30, 2010 | Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, ERISA, ERISA - Standard of Review, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog, Legislation, News
Policyholder/Employee groups who have group disability insurance coverage through their employers and who find themselves operating in the byzantine world of ERISA have long criticized discretionary clauses contained in such ERISA policies. These often have the...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Aug 11, 2010 | Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, ERISA, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog, Legislation, News
The Wednesday August 11, 2010 edition of the Los Angeles Daily Journal featured my article, entitled “The Waiver Doctrine, Alive And Well in ERISA Cases,” in the Perspective column. It explains a very recent case from the Ninth Cirhttp://www.dailyjournal.comcuit Court...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Aug 11, 2010 | Firm News, Health/Medical Insurance, Legislation, News
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has announced new regulations that go into effect aimed at combating improper rescissions by insurance companies. These will go into effect on August 18, 2010. Poizner said in his press release of August 6, 2010: “Keeping your...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Aug 10, 2010 | ERISA, Firm News, Health/Medical Insurance, Legislation, News
The Department of Health and Human Services issued new appeal regulations under the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Affordable Care Act”). These regulations give claimants the right to appeal decisions made by their health plan to an...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Aug 7, 2010 | Firm News, Legislation, News
The Thursday August 5, 2010 edition of the Los Angeles Daily Journal featured my article entitled “Cell Phone Users Catch a Break,” in the Perspective column. It discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s recent announcement regarding its decision to exempt wireless...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Jul 26, 2010 | Firm News, Legislation
On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173). The Act directs the U.S. Treasury Department to create a Federal Insurance Office (“FIO”) The FIO has the authority to monitor all aspects of...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Jul 7, 2010 | Case Updates, Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, ERISA, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog, Legislation
In the last several years, the scope of discovery in ERISA cases has been a point of contention between plaintiff and defense counsel. Plaintiffs typically want free range to conduct discovery on any potentially relevant information addressing the conflict of...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Jun 29, 2010 | Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, Discovery, ERISA, ERISA - Administrative Record, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog, Legislation, News
For most insurance litigation, the majority of the evidence used by both sides comes from the claim file, also known as the administrative record in ERISA cases. The claim file represents the insurance carrier’s written record of its handling and processing of an...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Jun 22, 2010 | Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog, Legislation, News
In the aftermath of the United States Supreme Court holding in Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Glenn, 554 U.S. 105, 128 S.Ct. 2343, 2348 (2008), the courts have struggled to apply this holding. The Ninth Circuit did so in Montour v. Hartford Life & Accid. Ins. Co.,...
On Behalf of McKennon Law Group PC | Jun 21, 2010 | Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance News, Firm News, Insurance Litigation Blog, Legislation, News
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in an unpublished decision, addressed the question of whether documents reviewed by an independent medical examiner, but not by the plan administrator, was sufficient to satisfy the Plan’s obligation to...
