Kenneth Lindsay's wife died. Her name was Linda. Lindsay made a claim on what he thought was a life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy maintained and administered by his oil company employer.
The insurance carrier denied Lindsay's claim. It seems that the oil company employer allegedly let the policy lapse. So there was no coverage to help Kenneth pay his wife's death bills.
Mr. Lindsay sued his employer in Texas State court, alleging breach of fiduciary duties among other things for missing the renewal date and so not keeping the policy in force. The Texas oil company removed the Texas case to federal court. Mr. Lindsay filed a motion to remand back to Texas State court where he filed his claim.
The federal judge denied Lindsay's motion and, despite huge federal court dockets, kept this case on its docket in an order that illustrates the adage, "Timing is everything." The order was entered two days before Christmas. ERISA provided the immunity that could not be denied in this case: Lindsay v. Logan Oil Tools, Inc., No. H–16–3010, 2016 WL 7426404 (S.D. Tex. December 23, 2016).
For more on many aspects of ERISA, see the coverage given to it by the Health Affairs Blog at www.healthaffairs.org. See also this informative and well-researched blog post by Matthew H. Hawes and Patrick Rehfield, "Fiduciary Risk in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity? You Bet!" (April 7, 2016). The article by Hawes and Rehfield explores fiduciary risk under ERISA, in part.
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