Ghouri v. Johnson & Johnson Long Term Disability Plan

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff-Appellant Aneela Ghouri appeals from the district court’s order granting the motion for summary judgment filed by the Defendants-Appellees, Johnson & Johnson Long Term Disability Plan (the “LTD Plan”) and the administrator of the LTD Plan, the Reed Group. The district court affirmed a decision by the LTD Plan Review Committee to discontinue Ghouri’s long-term disability benefits when she failed to timely respond to Reed’s request for proof that her disability was continuing. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review the district court’s order de novo, and we affirm.

The LTD Plan states that if a request for additional information is not answered timely, “no benefit under this Plan shall be payable.” The undisputed facts show that Ghouri did not provide the information Reed requested by either the 15-day deadline in the LTD Plan or the 30-day deadline in the request, nor did she request additional time to respond. In denying Ghouri benefits, Reed and the Pension Committee relied on an independent medical opinion by Dr. Friedman, which was based on his own observations and a number of objective tests. Dr. Friedman opined that Ghouri was not…