Arch Capital to Face Trimmed ERISA Suit by Employee’s Widower

The widower of a deceased Arch Capital Services LLC employee advanced claims that the company erred by failing to affirmatively explain how the employee could keep certain benefits after leaving her job due to illness.

The specialty insurance company may have had an affirmative duty to tell the employee the steps necessary to keep her husband eligible for death benefits after she left her job while battling ovarian cancer, Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. said Monday. Multiple courts have recognized this affirmative duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act when certain “special circumstances” are present, the judge said. ...