Case: Health & Welfare Benefits/Disability Benefits (W.D. La.)

A former Red River Rehab, LLC occupational therapist may pursue her claim that Red River should be estopped, under ERISA, from claiming she either did not have short- and long-term disability benefits, or that those benefits terminated, a federal court in Louisiana held in her action seeking to recover those benefits after she was diagnosed with a genetic autonomic nervous system disorder that purportedly prevented her from performing her job duties. ERISA estoppel requires proof of “a material misrepresentation, reasonable and detrimental reliance upon the misrepresentation, and extraordinary circumstances,” the court said. Noting that the Fifth Circuit has not yet ...