"Whatever the Justices bring to the case in their conception of 'liens,' they presumably will regard the case as weighing the significance of Montanile's plainly maleficent behavior against the statutory language that the Court has interpreted so narrowly. Skeptics might expect Montanile's 'unclean hands' to carry the day for the plan; purists might expect the Court to follow its precedents. One very real possibility is that the appearance of the Solicitor General on Montanile's behalf will carry significant weight: if the government discounts the risks to plan solvency of a decision in Montanile's favor, and if the Solicitor of Labor (who signed the government's brief) can stomach Montanile's behavior, then the Justices might find it much easier to follow the lead of Great-West and Sereboff and rule for Montanile." [Bd. of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan v. Montanile, No. 14-11678 (11th Cir. Nov. 25, 2014; cert. pet. granted Mar. 30, 2015; oral arg. sched. Nov. 9, 2015)]  MORE >>