Kaiser

MEMORANDUM **

Bruce Kaiser appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Standard Insurance Company and the eBay, Inc., Long Term Disability Insurance Plan in Kaiser’s action alleging that Standard abused its discretion when it failed to extend long term disability benefits to him. We affirm.

The district court was aware of the need to take Standard’s inherent conflict of interest into account; it was well aware of and cited to our explication of the appropriate standard in Abatie v. Alta Health & Life Ins. Co., 458 F.3d 955, 967-69 (9th Cir.2006) (en banc). The Supreme Court’s later decision did not affect that explication for purposes of this case. See Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. Glenn, — U.S. -, -, 128 S.Ct. 2343, 2350-51 , 171 L.Ed.2d 299 (2008).

Upon review of the record, we have determined that the district court did not err when it decided that Standard’s denial of Kaiser’s long term disability claim was not an abuse of discretion. 1 For example, there was no abuse in Standard’s use of the “own occupation” limitation, or in its decision to rely upon its consultants rather than upon the opinions of Kaiser’s physicians, 2 or, ultimately, in its consider…