United States Ninth Circuit

An order reversing Albertson's decision to terminate plaintiff's Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits received under Albertson's Employees' Disability Benefits Plan is affirmed as: 1) the district court properly applied the 1993 Disability Plan in reviewing Albertson's decision to terminate plaintiff's LTD benefits; and 2) although the district court may not have properly applied and expressly considered the plan's delegation clause and relevant evidence, affirmance was proper upon de novo review, as the record established that Albertson's decision-making body was not properly vested with the requisite discretionary authority so as to invoke a deferential standard of review by the district court.

Appellate Information

• Argued 06/07/2007
• Decided 10/15/2007
• Published 10/15/2007

Judges

• Before:  JOHNNIE B. RAWLINSON and STEPHEN S. TROTT, Circuit Judges, and MARY H. MURGUIA, District Judge.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Lisa S. Kantor, Kantor & Kantor LLP, Northridge, CA, for the plaintiff-appellee., W. Mark Gavre, Parsons Behle & Latimer, Salt Lake City, UT, for the defendants-appellants.