McKennon Law Group PC won two federal court disability insurance cases, establishing new ways for disabled persons to prove eligibility for ERISA-governed group long-term disability benefits.
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McKennon Law Group PC is pleased to announce it was victorious in two new federal court disability insurance cases and shares new information about proving disability in cases that arise from the denial of disability insurance claims made in cases governed by ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
McKennon Law Group PC’s victories in two recent, precedent-setting cases established several new ways that disabled persons can prove they qualify for group long-term disability insurance benefits if those benefits have been denied by an ERISA-governed insurance provider.
McGuire v. LINA
When a court reviews the rejection of benefits in an ERISA case, it usually does so under the “de novo” review standard, but in McGuire v. Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA), the court used a review standard, the abuse of discretion standard, that is rare in California ERISA cases.
The court clarified what constitutes an insurer’s abuse of discretion when it denies a disability claim, and ruled in favor of McKennon Law Group PC’s client, finding that LINA abused its discretion when it denied plaintiff’s claim. The abuse of discretion standard is becoming more prevalent throughout the country and knowing how to win these cases with this standard of review is critical. The McGuire case provides a good roadmap for ERISA disability claimants to win their cases against insurers who improperly deny disability or life insurance claims.
Read more from their blog post on this case here: https://mslawllp.com/blog/2022/12/mcguire-v-lina-erisa-case/
Logan v. Prudential
In Logan v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, a claim for long-term insurance disability benefits was denied by Prudential even though the Social Security Administration had determined that the claimant qualified for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments.
Typically, when a federal judge hears an ERISA case, new evidence may not be introduced, and the administrative record of the case is the only evidence considered. The claimant in this case was awarded SSDI benefits after the administrative record of the case was compiled.
While the judge denied a motion to have the claimant’s SSDI award letter included in the administrative record of the case, the fact that the SSDI award letter was issued was considered by the judge as supporting evidence for the disability claim.
After the precedent in McGuire and Logan, a disabled policyholder’s lawsuit against an ERISA-governed insurance provider that has denied a disability insurance claim is now more likely to prevail.
Read more from their blog post on this case here: https://mslawllp.com/blog/2022/12/ssdi-award-letter-helps-client-win-erisa-case/
A record of these cases can be found here:
https://mslawllp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/221109-Order_33.pdf
https://mslawllp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/220921-Memorandum-of-Decision_38-1.pdf
Contact details:
https://lawyers.justia.com/lawyer/robert-john-mckennon-1487258
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/McKennonLawGroup/
Contact Info:
Name: McKennon Law Group PC
Email: Send Email
Organization: McKennon Law Group PC
Address: 20321 Southwest Birch Street #200 Newport Beach, California 92660
Phone: (949) 387-9595
Website: https://mslawllp.com/
Release ID: 89088051
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