Just in Time? 

Posted by: Nick Curabba

As Phil Gutwein mentioned on this blog earlier, the Supreme Court is to set to hear oral arguments on MetLife v. Glenn, which involves the appropriate standard of review of benefit eligibility decisions.  Blogger Roy Harmon on his Health Plan Law blog noted the Court's decision can't come soon enough.  He quotes from a recent Ninth Circuit slip opinion:

"The [Supreme] Court granted certiorari on the following specific question, which might affect the district court’s analysis on remand: “'If an administrator that both determines and pays claims under an ERISA plan is deemed to be operating under a conflict of interest, how should that conflict be taken into account on judicial review of a discretionary benefit determination?' The district court may wish to stay its review of Dine’s claims until the Court has issued its decision in Glenn, which is scheduled for argument on April 23, 2008." 

Dine v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., Slip Copy, 2008 WL 565322 (C.A.9 (Cal.)) (March 03, 2008)

In what is shaping up to be a busy ERISA docket for the Court, we anticipate the Glenn decision will not be issued until close to the end of this year's term in June -- perhaps just about the time MetLife could be looking at the next round of litigation in Dine.