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Ninth Circuit Holds Tight to ERISA Interpretation Rule That Courts Will 'Not Artificially Create Ambiguity Where None Exist'

Excerpt: In late 2004, UNUM informed [the plaintiff] that regarding his 1997 LTD claim, it should have ceased payments in 1998 because [he] left [his employer] to take another job. At the new job, [the plaintiff] was earning approximately the same salary he had earned before the accident. The rationale for UNUM's decision was based upon the LTD policy which stated: Disability benefits will cease on the earliest of: The date the insured is no longer disabled; The date the insured dies; The end of the maximum benefit period; The date the insured's current earnings exceed 80% of his pre-disability earnings.