Wilborn

MEMORANDUM **

Plaintiff-Appellant Jack K. Wilborn’s (“Appellant”) Long Term Disability (“LTD”) benefits from American Express were terminated by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (“MetLife”) and this decision was upheld by the American Express Benefits Appeal Review Committee (“BARC”). The basis of MetLife’s decision was that Appellant was not so disabled that he could not “perform any gainful occupation” for which he was “reasonably suited” as required in the LTD benefits plan. Appellant appeals from the District Court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of American Express. We reverse the District Court’s grant of summary judgment and remand the case to the District Court with instructions to remand in turn to BARC to conduct a full and fair review of Appellant’s claim.

We do not analyze which standard of review applies in this case, because at oral argument Appellant conceded that the standard of review for purposes of appeal should be abuse of discretion. Thus we need only review whether the district court *733 properly applied that standard. We hold that it did not.

A court will find an abuse of discretion when the plan administrator made a decision without any…