Barboza
Barboza v. California Ass'n of Professional Firefighters
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Mueller, J.
ORDER
Plaintiff David Barboza seeks unpaid long-term disability benefits under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. He and the defendants, the California Association of Professional Firefighters (CAPF), the California Association of Professional Firefighters Long Term Disability Plan (the Plan), and California Administration Insurance Services, Inc. (CAIS), have filed cross motions for summary judgment. The court held a hearing on July 24, 2015. Geoffrey White and Michelle Roberts appeared for Barboza, and Brendan Begley appeared for the defendants. For the reasons described below, Barboza’s motion is granted.
*1153 I. BACKGROUND
A. Factual Background
Unless otherwise noted, the court concludes the following facts are not genuinely disputed. CAPF offers a long-term disability plan to California Firefighters, and CAIS is the Plan’s administrator. PL’s Resp. Defs.’ Stmt. Undisputed Material Facts (UMF1) no. 1, ECF No. 163-1. David Barboza was a firefighter for the City of Tracy, California. Id. no. 2. Barbo-za injured his back in the early 1990s, and despite a promotion to a position that involved mostly desk work, his…