Guardian Must Face Disability Suit Despite Failure to Exhaust

A truck driver who sued Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America for disability benefits advanced his lawsuit when a California federal judge said he wasn’t required to exhaust the plan’s internal appeals process before filing suit.

Guardian’s disability plan includes language providing that plan participants “will have up to 180 days to make an appeal” and giving them “the opportunity” to submit evidence supporting their claim. Because this language is permissive rather than mandatory, it doesn’t prevent a participant from filing suit before going through the internal appeals process, the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled. ...