United States Second Circuit

In an ERISA action, district court's judgment against plaintiff is reversed where the denial of plaintiff's disability retirement pension claim by defendant was arbitrary and capricious, as there was no explicit provision in the pension plan or summary plan description that set forth a particular timeframe in which members must apply for benefits and the defendant failed to explain why it did not treat the 1998 phone call by plaintiff as a timely application for benefits. Case is remanded to defendant for reconsideration.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/12/2009
• Published 03/12/2009

Judges

• DENNIS JACOBS, Chief Judge:, Before JACOBS, Chief Judge, CALABRESI and SACK, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert J. Bach, New York, N.Y., for Plaintiff-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Russell L. Hirschhorn, (Myron D. Rumeld, on the brief) Proskauer Rose LLP, New York, N.Y., for Defendants-Appellees.