Disability Claimant's Suit Remanded To Kansas State Court; Federal Claim Dismissed
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A Kansas federal judge on Jan. 23 remanded a disability benefits dispute to Kansas state court after determining that the only federal claim asserted by the claimant must be dismissed for failure to state a claim (Sheila Hunnell Villines v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co., No. 19-2581, D. Kan., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11053). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Disability Claimant's Motion To Remand Denied; Federal Jurisdiction Is Proper
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A disability claimant's allegations against Kentucky's insurance commissioner and the Kentucky Department of Insurance (DOI) must be dismissed, a Kentucky federal judge said Jan. 9 after determining that the claimant failed to exhaust all administrative remedies with the commissioner and the DOI (Charles A. Knoppe v. Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., et al., No. 18-264, W.D. Ky., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3612). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Panel Says Fraud Act Claim Alleged By Disability Claimant Cannot Stand
NEW YORK - A trial court erred in denying a disability insurer's motion to dismiss a claim alleging violation of New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act (NJCFA) because a wrongful denial of benefits claim is not actionable under the NJCFA and the claimant failed to allege any deceitful conduct related to the procurement or issuance of the disability policy, the First Department of the New York Supreme Appellate Division said Jan. 23 (Yochanan Bulka v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., No. 657560/17, N.Y. Sup., App. Div., 1st Dept., 2020 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 470). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Disability Claimant's Suit Against Insurer Dismissed As Untimely By Federal Judge
NEW ORLEANS - A disability claimant's complaint must be dismissed because the claimant failed to file suit against the disability insurer within three years as required by the disability plan's applicable and enforceable contractual limitation period, a Louisiana federal judge said Jan. 24 (Gregory Scott Sr. v. The Prudential Insurance Company of America, No. 19-9294, E.D. La., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12299). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Disability Insurer's Claims Dismissed; Economic Loss Rule Precludes Claims
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Florida federal judge on Jan. 27 dismissed a disability insurer's counterclaims for fraud and negligent misrepresentation in a disability and life insurance dispute because the counterclaims are barred by the economic loss rule (ELR), which prohibits tort claims in a contractual dispute (Douglas Kuber v. Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, No. 19-80211, S.D. Fla., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14121). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

De Novo Standard Of Review To Be Applied In Disability Benefits Dispute
MOBILE, Ala. - A de novo standard of review must be applied in a disability benefits dispute because the disability insurer failed to provide the claimant with a full and fair review as required by the Department of Labor regulations governing disability claims, an Alabama federal judge said Jan. 21 in granting a disability claimant's motion for partial summary judgment (Brian McConnell v. American General Life Insurance Co., No. 19-0174, S.D. Ala., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9605). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

9th Circuit Denies Petition For Rehearing In Disability, Standard Of Review Suit
SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 15 denied a disability claimant's motion for rehearing en banc, refusing to reconsider its ruling that a district court did not err in applying an abuse-of-discretion standard of review in a disability suit because the plan administrator's conduct did not rise to the level of requiring a de novo review of the plan's denial of benefits (Olga Gorbacheva v. Abbott Laboratories Extended Disability Plan, et al., Nos. 18-15400, 18-16178, 9th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1376). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Bad Faith Claim Against Disability Income Insurer To Proceed, Judge Says
SCRANTON, Pa. - A Pennsylvania federal judge on Jan. 13 denied a disability income insurer's motion for partial summary judgment on a bad faith claim because the insured provided sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that the insurer acted in bad faith in denying the claim for disability income benefits (Joseph D. Dileo v. Federated Life Insurance Co., No. 18-628, M.D. Pa., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5003). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Disability Insurer's Calculation Of Benefits Was Reasonable
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - A New York federal magistrate judge on Jan. 8 recommended granting a disability insurer's motion for summary judgment after determining that the insurer's calculation of monthly disability benefits was not unreasonable (Jason Brand v. Narco Freedom Inc., et al., No. 15-5021, E.D. N.Y., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3813). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Disability Insurer Properly Offset Claimant's Veterans Affairs' Benefits, Panel Says
BOSTON - The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 27 affirmed a district court's ruling in favor of a disability insurer after determining the lower court did not err in finding that the disability insurer properly offset disability benefits payable under its policy by disability benefits received by the claimant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Marco Martinez v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, No. 18-2127, 1st Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 2507). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Does Not Bar LTD Benefits, Judge Determines
NEW ORLEANS - A disability insurer wrongfully denied a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on the plan's pre-existing condition exclusion because the back injury the claimant sustained while working was not caused by the claimant's pre-existing degenerative back condition, a Louisiana federal judge said Jan. 13 in awarding the claimant past and future LTD benefits (Karl Meche v, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., No. 18-3995, E.D. La., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5200). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Federal Judge Says Fact Issues Exist On Disability Claimant's Occupational Duties
PHOENIX - An Arizona federal judge on Feb. 3 determined that questions of fact exist as to whether a disability claimant is able to perform the material duties of a clinical anesthesiologist and whether the disability insurer's handling of the disability claim constitutes bad faith (Thomas Scott Wood v. Provident Life and Accident Insurance Co., No. 17-2330, D. Ariz., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19057). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Disability Claimant Met Burden Of Proving Disability, 6th Circuit Panel Says
CINCINNATI - The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal on Jan. 23 reversed a district court's ruling in favor of a disability plan after determining that the disability claimant proved by a preponderance of the evidence that he was disabled from performing the duties of his regular occupation and that he was under the regular care of a physician for his disabling conditions (Jesse Bruton v. American United Life Insurance Corp., No. 19-3466, 6th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 2498). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Disability Insurer's Termination Of Benefits Supported By Evidence
COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio federal judge on Feb. 4 granted a disability insurer's motion for judgment on the administrative record after determining that the evidence clearly supported the insurer's decision to terminate a claimant's long-term disability benefits (Farron Russell Creed v. Hartford Life& Accident Co., No. 19-1072, S.D. Ohio, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17613). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news

Disability Insurer Failed To Consider Opinions Of Treating Physicians
AKRON, Ohio - An Ohio federal magistrate judge on Jan. 31 granted a disability claimant's motion for judgment on the administrative record and remanded the long-term disability (LTD) benefits claim to the plan administrator after determining that the plan administrator failed to consider the opinions of two of the claimant's treating physicians (Ann M. Geraci v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co., No. 18-2367, N.D. Ohio, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16142). (Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News)
Source: LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Disability Insurance Legal News - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: news