Lincoln Life’s Disability Benefits Win Undone by Ninth Circuit

An insurance agent suing Lincoln Life Assurance Co. of Boston for disability benefits revived her lawsuit on Monday, when the Ninth Circuit said the case was wrongly dismissed for reasons not cited by the insurer.

The district judge improperly affirmed Lincoln’s denial of benefits using new rationales that the insurer didn’t assert during the administrative process, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said. When a district court reviews a benefit dispute under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act without extending deference to the plan administrator, it must stick to the administrative record, the court said, offering clarification ...