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Elizabeth Hopkins is a partner at Kantor & Kantor. After a long and fulfilling career at the United States Department of Labor, where she gained substantial experience working on pension, healthcare, and other ERISA issues, she joined the firm in 2018.

There is no one case that stood out as Case of the Week. However, this week’s batch of decisions highlights several interesting trends. First, healthcare continues to dominate the ERISA litigation scene. Second, as a sign perhaps of tough economic times, we are seeing an increasing number of suits for severance benefits. Finally, collectively-bargained pension

D.K. v. United Behavioral Health, No. 21-4088, __ F. 4th __, 2023 WL 3443353 (10th Cir. May. 15, 2023) (Before Circuit Judges Carson, Lucero, and Rossman)

Good news this week for healthcare claimants in the Tenth Circuit. This case, in which a family successfully challenged a denial by United Behavioral Health of residential

Mass. Laborers’ Health & Welfare Fund v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass., No. 22-1317, __ F. 4th __, 2023 WL 3069637 (1st Cir. Apr. 25, 2023) (Before Circuit Judges Gelpi, Lynch, and Thompson)

The Massachusetts Health & Welfare Fund, a self-funded multiemployer group health plan, sued its former third-party administrator, Blue Cross