After more than forty years of marriage, R.V. Maddox and Winda Lou Cindy Maddox (“Cindy”) divorced, and the trial court judgment explicitly awarded R.V. and Cindy each one-half of the yearly[1] payments from an employee savings plan[2] that had accumulated while R.V. had worked for Champion International Corporation. R.V. later married Diane Maddox. After R.V.’s death ten years later, the ... More...   $0 (03-09-2011 - TX)

We address the standard for overturning an ERISA plan decision, and why the challenger met it.

I. Facts

Samuel Salomaa worked for American Honda Motor Company, Inc. for more than twenty years. His supervisor described him as “without a doubt the best employee to have worked for me” in her 15 years at Honda. He was never out sick, and never left work early or came in late. At age ... More...   $0 (03-07-2011 - CA)

On behalf of himself and others similarly situated, Jeffrey L. Smith sued Medical Benefits Administrators Group, Inc. (doing business as “Auxiant”), the claims administrator for his workplace health insurance plan, contending that Auxiant breached its fiduciary obligations to Smith when it preauthorized his gastric bypass surgery and then turned around and denied his claim for benefits after t... More...   $0 (03-15-2011 - WI)

Plaintiffs, representing a class of former employees of Emery Worldwide Airlines, Inc. (EWA), appeal from the entry of judgment in favor of defendants EWA and its parent company CNF Corporation on claims brought under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (WARN Act), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2101-2109. Plaintiffs’ principal claim is that the district court erred in finding, at the ... More...   $0 (02-16-2011 - OH)

Plaintiffs Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. (“OOIDA”), and Carl Harp and Michael Wiese, as representatives of the certified class of owner-operators, seek to enforce a final judgment obtained in a class action brought on behalf of independent owner-operator truck drivers against a regulated motor carrier, debtor Arctic Express Inc. (“Arctic”), for maintenance escrow fun... More...   $0 (03-03-2011 - OH)

Main Street Adoption Services, LLP and two of its officers (collectively, Main Street), none of whom are residents of Michigan, have filed this interlocutory appeal challenging the district court’s conclusions that (1) it has personal jurisdiction over Main Street regarding the various claims of the

1

Michigan plaintiffs, (2) venue is proper in the Eastern District of Michigan, and... More...   $0 (03-04-2011 - MI)

We address the standard for overturning an ERISA plan decision, and why the challenger met it.

I. Facts

Samuel Salomaa worked for American Honda Motor Company, Inc. for more than twenty years. His supervisor described him as “without a doubt the best employee to have worked for me” in her 15 years at Honda. He was never out sick, and never left work early or came in late. At age ... More...   $0 (03-08-2011 - CA)

Corey Wrenn appeals an order granting judgment in favor of Principal Life Insurance Company and Principal Financial Group, Inc. (collectively Principal) on Wrenn's claim for medical benefits under a plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461. Reviewing the denial of benefits for an abuse of discretion, the district court upheld Principal'... More...   $0 (03-08-2011 - IA)

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan (“Blue Cross”), appeals the trial court’s February 10, 2009 judgment denying its first motion to dismiss (for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted). It also appeals the trial court’s March 30, 2010 judgment wherein the court (1) denied Blue Cross’s second motion to dismiss (for lack of subject matter ju... More...   $0 (02-24-2011 - OH)

On October 12, 2007, John J. Fitzgerald (“Fitzgerald”), the appellee, was divorced from Lori F. Fitzgerald (“Lori Fitzgerald” or “the Decedent”) in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. A Marital Settlement Agreement (“the Agreement”) was incorporated, but not merged, into the parties’ judgment of absolute divorce. In the Agreement, Fitzgerald granted Lori Fitzgerald his entir... More...   $0 (02-07-2011 - MD)

In the fall of 2008, Diane Kitterman’s1 family physician informed her that she had ovarian cancer. He advised that she try to have the cancer removed and, to that end, referred her to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

At that time, Kitterman was participating in a health insurance benefit plan administered by Coventry. Prior to scheduling her procedure at the Mayo Clinic, Kitterman... More...   $0 (02-16-2011 - IA)

Plaintiffs worked for Waste Reduction, Inc., at its facilities in Indiana, until they were laid off in 2006. The next year Waste Reduction entered bankruptcy in Michigan. Plaintiffs filed claims for overdue wages and fringe benefits. Their wage claims were allowed and paid, but they remained dissatisfied. Indiana imposes penalties on employers that tarry in remitting wages, see Ind. Code §§ 22-2... More...   $0 (02-16-2011 - IN)

In an unusual turn of events, ERISA makes this a simple case. To determine the proper beneficiary of Thomas Blakeley’s life insurance policy, ERISA says to look first at the text of the policy. But the court below overlooked a key piece of the policy’s text and instead resorted to the common law to decide that Sondra Billet was the rightful beneficiary. This was error.

I.

When he... More...   $0 (02-15-2011 - OH)

Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Co. seeks a peremptory writ of mandate directing the trial court to reverse its order denying Blue Shield’s motion for summary adjudication of plaintiff and real party in interest Myrna Kawakita’s tort cause of action for bad faith breach of a health insurance policy she obtained from Blue Shield. Blue Shield contends the cause of action is bar... More...   $0 (02-09-2011 - CA)

Robert T. Miller filed suit against American Airlines, Inc., the American Airlines, Inc. Pilot Retirement Benefit Program Fixed Income Plan, and the American Airlines, Inc. Pension Benefits Administration Committee (collectively, “American”), alleging a violation of § 502(a)(1)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B). Miller asserted that ... More...   $0 (01-25-2011 - PA)

The two cases that we have consolidated for decision in this opinion both deal with the responsibilities of a company with respect to a definedcontribution pension plan that it offers to its employees.

The company in each instance is Motorola, Inc., and the disputes concern employees’ retirement accounts in the Motorola 401(k) Savings Plan (the “Plan”). Bruce Howell was the original p... More...   $0 (01-21-2011 - IL)

Plaintiff Wojciech Czarniecki was a probationary police officer of the Chicago Police Department from November 2006 until he was dismissed in February 2007. In two federal lawsuits, Czarniecki has alleged that he was improperly dismissed because of his Polish national origin. In September 2007, Czarniecki filed the first suit against the City of Chicago and the Assistant Deputy Superintendent of t... More...   $0 (01-21-2011 - IL)

Employer-supported, definedcontribution plans, including those commonly known as 401(k) plans, play a vital role in the retirement planning of millions of Americans. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., uses the following definition for such a plan:

The term “individual account plan” or “defined contribution plan” means a pens... More...   $0 (01-21-2011 - IL)

In this appeal, appellant Donna Cusson ("Cusson") challenges the district court's decision to grant summary judgment to appellees Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston ("Liberty") and the FleetBoston Financial Corporation Long-Term Disability Plan ("LTD Plan"). After Liberty terminated Cusson's long-term disability ("LTD") benefits, Cusson sued in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, argui... More...   $0 (01-14-2011 - MA)

Robert B. Fier appeals the district court’s denial of benefits under two insurance policies that he purchased from Unum Life Insurance Company of America (Unum) while working at the Boyd Group. Fier v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., No. 2:06-cv-01162-RLH-LRL, 2009 WL 3644187 (D. Nev. Nov. 3, 2009). Both policies are maintained pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), ... More...   $0 (01-04-2011 - NV)

Appellant David Fernea sued appellee Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, Inc. ("Merrill Lynch") asserting various causes of action arising from its alleged failure to adequately supervise its employee, Terry Christopher Bounds, in the sale of a portion of his outside businesses to Fernea. Merrill Lynch moved for summary judgment, attaching affidavits to its motion as evidence. Fernea objected to ... More...   $0 (01-07-2011 - TX)

Appellant David Fernea sued appellee Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, Inc. ("Merrill Lynch") asserting various causes of action arising from its alleged failure to adequately supervise its employee, Terry Christopher Bounds, in the sale of a portion of his outside businesses to Fernea. Merrill Lynch moved for summary judgment, attaching affidavits to its motion as evidence. Fernea objected to ... More...   $0 (01-07-2011 - TX)

In an action brought pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Meredith Solomon sought reimbursement from Medical Mutual of Ohio (MMO) for charges she incurred for treatment of her cocaine addiction. The district court upheld MMO’s benefits determination and granted summary judgment to MMO. Solomon now appeals, arguing that the district court erred by applying arbitrary an... More...   $0 (01-04-2011 - OH)

¶1 This case arises from a medical negligence suit filed by Plaintiff/Appellee, Angela Edwards, individually, and on behalf of her husband, Johnny G. Edwards, an incapacitated person (Edwards). Ultimately, the underlying lawsuit was settled and Edwards sought court approval of the settlement. Defendant/Appellant, Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), objected to the settlement on the basis that ... More...   $0 (10-22-2010 - OK)

Plaintiff Mark Brown appeals the district court's dismissal of his complaint against Medtronic, Inc., several of its directors, a retirement plan committee, and various fiduciaries. Brown alleges class-action claims pursuant to the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act of 1973 ("ERISA") and seeks to serve as the representative plaintiff. His claims relate to purported breaches of fiduciary d... More...   $0 (12-13-2010 - MN)