In this diversity state law breach of contract action, the plaintiff-appellants Lee Nester, Tom Sowders, and Don Schneider (collectively "the plaintiffs" or "the Former Employees"), have contested the district court's judgment for their erstwhile employer, defendant-appellee Allegiance Healthcare Corporation ("Healthcare" or "the defendant"), a subsidiary of Allegiance Corporation ("Allegiance").

Plaintiffs-Appellants Marquette General Hospital ("Marquette General") and Michael Egan ("Egan") appeal the district court's order granting Defendants-Appellees', Goodman Forest Industries ("Goodman"), Claim Management Services ("CMS") and Medical Benefits Association ("MBA"), motion for summary judgment in this case brought pursuant to the Employment Retirement and Income Security Act ("ERISA"),

Thomas & Betts Corporation appeals a judgment dismissing its counterclaims and granting reasonable expenses and attorney fees to Timothy and Luann Traynor in the sum of $56,347.28. Thomas & Betts argues that the circuit court erred by finding that it did not have priority rights to a third party settlement. It also argues that the expenses awarded against it were excessive and improper. We disagre

Plaintiff-appellant Marc Andrew Mario appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Richard J. Arcara, Judge) dismissing his complaint against his employer, defendant-appellee P&C Food Markets, Inc. ("P & C"). Mario alleged that P & C had unlawfully denied him health insurance coverage for gender reassignment surgeries that he had undergone, and

Wilkes worked as a compliance officer for the Wyoming DOE, Fair Labor Standards Division, from 1990 until March 2000 when she was allegedly constructively discharged. Wilkes applied for a position as lead compliance officer in 1999, but the position was awarded to an employee who had worked as a compliance officer for less than six months, i.e., a probationary employee. Ac

In case number 01-2281, Debra L. Jolly appeals the district court's order dismissing her claim against Compaq Computer Corporation filed pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 1001-1461 (West 1999 & Supp. 2002) (ERISA). Jolly claims that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to Compaq and concluding that Compaq did not violate the tene

In May 1998, Life Care Centers of America, Inc., dba Las Fuentes Care Center ("Las Fuentes") entered into a group service agreement with Premier Healthcare of Arizona ("Premier") to provide health insurance for Las Fuentes employees. Premier's group insurance plan (the "Plan") provided that Las Fuentes would pay the monthly premiums with deductions from the employee payroll and with its o

We have held a number of times that a claimant's failure to exhaust the administrative remedies that an ERISA plan provides for challenging the denial of a benefits claim ordinarily bars her from pursuing that claim in court. E.g., Counts v. Am. Gen. Life & Accident Ins. Co., 111 F.3d 105, 108 (11th Cir. 1997). We have never decided the issue presented in this case, however, which is whether that

Several Sioux City homeowners sued the city when a storm sewer overflowed and damaged their properties. The district court, through the application of "offensive issue preclusion," granted the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment based on a prior case in which the city was found to be negligent in the design of the same drainage system. We reverse and remand.

I. Background Facts and

This case lies at the intersection of evolving circuit jurisprudence on judicial review of employee disability claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"). Pamela A. Ray, a partner at a national law firm, filed suit against UNUM Life Insurance Company of America ("UNUM") under ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1132, seeking long-term disability benefits pursuant to her firm's disability pl

In this case, brought pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461 (2000), plaintiff-appellant Daniel J. Leahy alleges that defendant-appellee Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), as the claims administrator for Raytheon Company's long-term disability plan (the Plan), unreasonably denied his claim for benefits. The district court granted

In August 1999, Great Northern, until then a subsidiary of Bowater, was sold in a share sale to a third party. Bowater, however, retained the assets and responsibilities of the pension plan that covered both Bowater and Great Northern employees. In the same month, Bowater announced that it would amend the plan to cut back certain early retirement benefits that the plan offered to Great Northern em

This is a case under the Employment Retirement Disability Act, 29 U.S.C. § 1001, et seq. (ERISA). Plaintiff-appellant Janice Spangler (Spangler) claims that defendants-appellees Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (Lockheed Martin) and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (Met Life),(1) wrongfully terminated her long-term disability (LTD) benefits. After conducting a review of the administrative recor

Randy Trainor sued his former employer, Apollo Metal Specialties, Inc., and Apollo's majority stockholder, Danny Pilgrim, alleging disability employment discrimination in violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111-17 ("ADA"), and raising state law claims of discrimination, retaliatory discharge, breach of contract, tortious interference with an employment contr

In these back-to-back appeals we decide whether plaintiffs' misrepresentation claims against various insurance and other professionals are preempted under 29 U.S.C.A. §1144(a), the preemption provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C.A. §§1001 to -1461. Plaintiffs, small business entities and their principals, assert that certain defendants misrepresented t

Donald Jebian, now 63, worked as a software engineer for Hewlett Packard continuously from 1983 to May 1995. In 1990 he began to suffer from a series of orthopedic impairments that caused him pain and made it difficult for him to move normally.

Jebian first developed bilateral shoulder pain. It turned out that he had a massive rotator cuff defect in his right shoulder, which was not diagno

The plaintiffs in this appeal are Gary K. Best and William J. Londrigan, the trustees of an employee pension plan; Dewey C. Parker, Jr., a participant in the plan; and the plan itself. The plaintiffs appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment dismissing their claims against the defendant, Ronald R. Cyrus, for breach of his fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security A

Plaintiff, Nga Bui, brings this action as the representative of her deceased husband's estate. Her husband, Hung M. Duong, died at Erfan Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 10, 1996. Immediately preceding his death, Duong underwent two unsuccessful operations, one of which had never previously been performed at Erfan Hospital, and suffered two myocardial infarctions.

In the week be

Appellant's husband, Larry Glen Jones, was injured in an automobile accident on October 24, 1994, which was covered by the terms of a group policy issued to Jones's employer by AIG Life Insurance Company. On September 21, 1995, AIG issued a check to Jones in the amount of $250,000 as payment of benefits under the policy. Jones died on December 3, 1995 without having negotiated the check.

Plaintiffs were formerly employed as sales representatives of Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Company ("Phoenix I"), now known as Phoenix Life Insurance Company, and are participants in the Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Company Group Sales Representative Deferred Compensation Plan ("the Plan"). Defendant-appellees include Phoenix Life Insurance Company, Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance C

Plaintiff Louise Romero brought this action under ERISA sections 502(a)(1)(B), 502(c)(1), and 510, 29 U.S.C. SS 1132(a)(1)(B), 1132(c)(1), and 1140, claiming that she was wrongfully denied ERISA benefits, was terminated for the purpose of interfering with her attainment of ERISA rights, and was entitled to a civil penalty because the administrator of her employer's plan did not p

Michael Lomas appeals the district court's award of summary judgment in favor of his former employer, Red Storm Entertainment, Inc. ("Red Storm"). Lomas sued Red Storm seeking benefits due under an individual retention/severance agreement (the "Agreement"),1 alleging violations of both the common law and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461 ("ERISA"). T

Plaintiffs, who are consumers of Tyson chicken, sued in state court alleging that Tyson fraudulently infused its chicken products with water and concealed the deceptive practice from consumers. Tyson removed the lawsuit to federal court. Plaintiffs appeal the district court’s denial of their motion to remand to state court and the subsequent dismissal of this case. Because we conclude

Plaintiffs-appellants Louise Cassidy, et al., appeal the district court's summary judgment for defendant, Akzo Nobel Salt, Inc., ("ANSI"), on plaintiffs' claim that they are contractually entitled to benefits under ANSI's severance pay plan. Jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship.

ANSI's termination plan states that regular full time employees who are "released" will receive

Citibank, N.A. (Citibank), adopted the Plan for the benefit of its employees. Pollock was an account collector for Citibank Credit Services and a participant in the Plan. Aetna Life Insurance Company (Aetna) acted as the plan administrator.

The Plan includes two definitions of disability. During the first twenty-four months of an alleged disability, the employee will be deemed disabled if she