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Text of Eighth Circuit Opinion: SPD Language Granting Discretion to Plan Administrator Is Enforceable to Determine Standard of Review (PDF)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Dec. 31, 2014 "[T]he district court concluded, and Johnson argues on appeal, that the grant of discretion appearing only in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) was insufficient to vest discretion in United.... Unlike the policy and SPD in [Jobe v. Medical Life Insurance Co.], there is no conflict here because a reasonable participant would have read the policy to have integrated the SPD along with the discretionary statement contained therein. The face of the policy in this case states, '[t]he Certificate of Insurance ... is made a part of the Policy.' The SPD was included in the Certificate of Insurance as the final part of the consecutively-paginated booklet.... Accordingly, we reject the district court's expanded reading of Jobe, and we conclude that under the policy and the integrated Certificate of Insurance, discretion was granted to United to determine eligibility for benefits." [Johnson v. United of Omaha Life Ins. Co., No. 13-2645 (8th Cir. Dec. 30, 2014)] |
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