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This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to discovery in ERISA benefits cases, an appellate court strictly interpreting ERISA regulatory deadlines, a district court authorizing an ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claim based on alleged misrepresentations from an employer, another district court...
This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that illustrate the importance of the administrative record built by a claims administrator, and the impact that the depth and thoroughness of the record will have on litigation over claims decisions. Whether reviewing claims under the de novo...
Two federal programs administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) provide financial assistance in the form of grants and rebates to public and non-profit entities seeking to replace their existing buses and trucks into clean vehicles. The most recent program was...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to augmentation of the administrative record following new rationales, attempted alternative ERISA causes of action, untimely ERISA claims, plans governed by ERISA even in the absence of a written plan document, and the limited weight given to residual...
The Inflation Reduction Act (the “IRA”), signed into law on August 16, 2022, appropriates nearly $27 billion to provide financial assistance to certain entities in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. This “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund” (the “Fund”) is available to a wide range of recipients...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to the interpretation of time periods for claims under life insurance and disability plans, a situation where three separate administrators handled a disability benefits claim (but came to different decisions), the Eleventh Circuit’s parsing of...
Property insurers faced with COVID-19 related claims for business income losses can take comfort in the recent trend of most appellate courts to find in favor of insurers that have denied coverage based on policy language requiring direct physical loss or damage. What You Need to Know: Many...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to interpretation of ambiguous policy terms, evaluation of claimant’s expert witness, inclusion of law firms as appropriate parties from whom plan administrators may seek equitable relief, transfer of cases from the claimant’s choice of venue, and...
On July 27, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced legislative proposals and initiatives that would prevent State Board of Administration (SBA) fund managers from considering environmental social and governance (ESG) factors when investing the state’s money. Instead, the proposed legislation...
On August 4, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) filed suit against Monsanto Co., Pharmacia LLC and Solutia, Inc., seeking to hold them liable for PCB contamination throughout New Jersey. ( Complaint ). While the suit also addresses contamination at Monsanto’s...
This month’s Friday Five addresses cases considering: (1) whether monetary relief in the amount of lost benefits is an available remedy for breach of fiduciary duty; (2) the validity of an ex-spouse’s beneficiary designation that contradicts a subsequent divorce decree; (3) if waiver of a pre...
On June 30th, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in West Virginia v. EPA . The Court concluded that the EPA had exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act by establishing emission caps in the Clean Power Plan (CPP) that would have required a shift in electrical generation from...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to interpretation of regulatory deadlines, the enforceability of discretionary clauses, circuit courts going both ways on appeals from summary judgment rulings in favor of plans, and a benefits award for a former professional football player where the...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to an award of attorney’s fees (but not) costs, class certification in an ERISA benefits case, a court finding that a physician claimant was disabled from his own occupation, a claimant paying into insurance he thinks he has, and an insurance company...
On May 26th, the EPA released an update of its Legal Tools to Advance Environmental justice – a compilation of the legal authorities it relies upon to protect public health and the environment for all persons in EJ and all communities. The tool kit replaces the “Plan EJ 2014 Legal Tools” and...