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Peter Sessions

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Peter S. Sessions is a partner at Kantor & Kantor who has been with the firm since 2004. Peter represents individual clients seeking health, life, and disability benefits, typically under employee health plans.

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Romano v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co., No. 19-21147-CIV, 2021 WL 949939 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 12, 2021) (Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman).

As the readers of this newsletter know, the federal courts have long decided that claims under ERISA are traditionally equitable in nature, and as a result, litigants typically are not entitled to a trial by jury. However, the Supreme Court has issued several decisions in recent years suggesting that claims under ERISA can be viewed as legal or equitable, depending on the relief requested. As a result, attorneys representing ERISA plaintiffs have started wondering whether they should be pushing back against the established notion that their clients are not entitled to jury trials. This case is another chapter in that story.

Continue Reading Jury Trials in ERISA Cases?

This week’s notable decision, Pension Benefit Guar. Corp. v. 50509 Marine LLC, No. 19-14968, __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 6882698 (11th Cir. Nov. 24, 2020), published two days before Thanksgiving, should have been issued a month earlier, during the Halloween season, as it addresses a frightening issue: can a zombie corporation operate an ERISA-governed pension plan? The creepy answer: it can!

The facts of the case stretch back to the 1990s, when an electrical supply company called Liberty Lighting Company filed for bankruptcy under Illinois law. Liberty was administratively dissolved, and its assets surrendered to creditors. Liberty’s owner, Joseph Wortley, also filed for bankruptcy, and all his assets, including his stock in Liberty, were surrendered to a trustee. However, Wortley continued to act as the administrator of Liberty’s pension plan, signing papers on behalf of the plan to effectuate benefit payments, among other activities.
Continue Reading Eleventh Circuit Holds Members of Controlled Group of Dissolved Corporation May be Liable for Pension Plan Termination Liabilities

This week’s notable decision is another Kantor & Kantor victory in a long-term disability benefit matter, Groch v. Dearborn Nat’l Life Ins. Co., No. 2:18-cv-06614 CBM (Ex), __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2020 WL 6374619 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2020).

Plaintiff brought this action for long-term disability (“LTD”) benefits under an ERISA-governed employee benefit plan insured by Defendant Dearborn National Life Insurance Company (“Dearborn”). As is typical of most LTD policies, Plaintiff was initially entitled to benefits if he demonstrated that he was unable to perform the duties of his “own occupation.” After 24 months of benefits, he had to demonstrate he was disabled from “any occupation” for which he might be qualified to continue receiving benefits.
Continue Reading District Court Rules Against Dearborn for “Moving Target” Claims Analysis in Disability Benefit Dispute