NetApp Beats Ex-Executives’ Suit Over Retiree Medical Coverage

NetApp Inc. defeated a lawsuit by seven former top executives who challenged the company’s decision to terminate their lifetime health benefits, according to a Sept. 12 order by the Northern District of California.

The executives claimed the company showed them a PowerPoint presentation explaining that they’d receive company medical benefits for life. But they couldn’t rely on this presentation in court, because it didn’t satisfy the statutory requirements of a benefit plan document under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Judge Beth Labson Freeman said.

The true plan document was contained in insurance certificates from Cigna and United Healthcare, Freeman ...