Browe v. CTC Corp., Nos. 19-677-CV, 19-813-CV, __ F.4th __, 2021 WL 4449878 (2d Cir. Sept. 29, 2021) (Before Circuit Judges Livingston, Lynch, and Bianco).

If you ever need to show someone a case to demonstrate how messy ERISA can be, you may want to consider this one. In this decision, the Second Circuit tackled a full buffet of ERISA issues, including statutes of limitations, “top hat” plan status, liability among fiduciaries, statutory penalties, and how to calculate and apportion remedies.

The trouble began when CTC Corporation, a Vermont photo-finishing company, decided to offer its employees a deferred compensation benefit plan in 1990. When the rise of digital photography obsoleted traditional film development, the company crumbled and so did the plan. CTC began using plan assets to fund the business in 2004, and eventually it was forced to cease doing business in 2014. This lawsuit, brought by several CTC employees against CTC and its managers, followed. The district court largely ruled for plaintiffs, but neither side was happy, and both appealed. Continue Reading Pension Plan Participants Largely Prevail in a Kitchen Sink Appeal to the Second Circuit

This week we just couldn’t choose between two cases in which ERISA plan participants were told that they could not qualify for benefits, despite serious medical conditions documented by their doctors.

The first case, Ovist v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., No. 20-1464, __ F.4th __, 2021 WL 4304547 (1st Cir. Sept. 22, 2021) (Before Circuit Judges Lynch and Selya, and District Judge Joseph N. Laplante), involved the denial of a claim for disability benefits.

Some disabilities are easier to identify and measure than others. In cases where the primary disabling symptoms include pain, weakness, or fatigue, insurers often battle with their insureds over whether those symptoms exist, and if so, how debilitating they are. Continue Reading Downright Unreasonable: Two Circuits Uphold Benefit Denials

Warmenhoven v. NetApp, Inc., No. 19-16960, __ F.4th __, 2021 WL 4143107 (9th Cir. Sept. 13, 2021) (Before Circuit Judges Christen and Bade, and District Judge Gary Feinerman).

Although ERISA does not require that welfare benefits vest, courts recognize that they can vest when an employer promises to provide such benefits for life. This case explores the thorny issue of when such a promise of lifetime healthcare benefits is irrevocable and, if not irrevocable, when such a promise constitutes a fiduciary breach and therefore lay the foundation for an equitable relief claim.  Continue Reading Promises, Promises: Statements in a PowerPoint About Lifetime Health Benefits May Bind Employer