Court Grants Partial Summary Judgment Dismissing Statutory Penalties

The US District Court of the Southern District of Texas recently granted partial summary judgment, dismissing penalties related to a failure to comply with a request for plan information. In this case, a participant in a company's life insurance plan, died a few months after terminating his employment. His widow was denied a claim for benefits because the employee did not complete forms to convert the life insurance and no premiums were paid following his termination. As part of the employee's widow's lawsuit, she asserted a claim against the plan administrator and the company alleging their failure to provide a copy of the insurance policy and copies of specific telephone recordings related to the matter. Under ERISA, a plan administrator may be subject to statutory penalties of up to $110 per day for failing to timely provide certain requested plan related documents. The plan administrator, upon written request, must "furnish a copy of the latest updated summary, plan