United States Fourth Circuit

In plaintiff's ERISA suit against MetLife for terminating her long-term disability benefits, judgment of the district court in favor of the plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) although the district court applied a legal standard later abrogated in Champion, it did not err in concluding that MetLife's decision to terminate plaintiff's long-term disability benefits for the applicable period was an abuse of discretion, as MetLife's rationale in terminating plaintiff's benefits was not reasoned and principled, and was not supported by substantial evidence; and 2) plaintiff was eligible for an award of attorneys' fees under the Hardt standard, and the district court's award of attorneys' fees was not an abuse of discretion.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/13/2010
• Decided 06/30/2010
• Published 06/30/2010

Judges

• KEENAN, J.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Andrew O. Whiteman, Iole Ariadne Staples