"[A recent Eighth Circuit] decision ... clarified that when circumstances demand 'less deferential review,' this cannot mean de novo review.... [The panel ruled that] when faced with conflicting panel opinions, the law dictated the earliest opinion controlled. Thus, because 'all of our precedents' mischaracterized the [1998 holding in Woo v. Deluxe Corp.], it was Woo rather than the subsequent cases misstating (or misapplying) the holding in Woo that controlled. The review could not be de novo, but an abuse of discretion standard analysis that took into consideration the procedural irregularity." [McIntyre v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., No. 19-2367 (8th Cir. Aug. 25, 2020)]  MORE >>