Unum Must Defend Disability Suit Following Lawyer’s Heart Attack

A patent attorney who said Unum Life Insurance Co. of America wrongly terminated his disability benefits scored a court order allowing him to go to trial on claims of breach of contract and bad faith.

Unum argued the attorney wasn’t entitled to benefits because he had no restrictions on his ability to work, hadn’t experienced a 20% loss of income, and wasn’t receiving appropriate medical care. Judge R. Barclay Surrick declined to rule for the insurer on these grounds, saying each argument turned on factual disputes that can’t be resolved without a trial.

• Surrick’s opinion, issued Oct. 11 in ...