United States Second Circuit

Dismissal of plaintiff's claim for long-term disability benefits is vacated as New York Insurance Law section 3234(a)(2) allows insurers to toll benefits during the first [twelve] months of coverage, but does not permit them to impose an absolute bar to coverage for disabilities stemming from preexisting conditions and arising during that twelve-month period.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/28/2007
• Published 12/28/2007

Judges

• PER CURIAM:, Before: WINTER, CABRANES, and POOLER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Eve-Lynn Gisonni, Gisonni & Harms, LLP (Richard Harms on the brief), Woodbury, NY, for Plaintiff-Appellant., Robert H. Easton, Deputy Solicitor General (Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York,Caitlin J. Halligan, Solicitor General, Benjamin N. Gutman, Assistant Solicitor General, on the brief), New York, NY, for Amicus Curiae State of New York in Support of Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Amy Posner, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Long Island City, N.Y. (Allen M. Marcus, Lester Schwab Katz & Dwyer LLP, New York, NY, on the brief) for Defendants-Appellees., Richard H. Streeter, Carolyn Doppelt Gray, Theresa L. Jakubowski, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP, Washington, DC;  Lisa Tate, American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae American Council of Life Insurers in Support of Appellees.