Although the Employee Retirement Income Security Act grants
benefit claimants the right to bring a civil action to challenge
benefit denials,1 ordinary civil procedure prescribed by
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure2 is not always
followed in ERISA litigation, nor are court
procedures uniform between the federal circuits.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's recent
ruling in Vicki Collier v. Lincoln Life Assurance Co. of Boston
illustrated this point.3
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court ruling upholding
Lincoln Life's decision to deny Vicki Collier's claim for
long-term disability benefits. Both the U.S.
District Court for the Central District of California and the court
of appeals applied the de novo standard of ERISA review. However,
the appellate court found the district court erred in the manner in
which it applied that standard, holding:
