Wells

MEMORANDUM **

Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (Reliance Standard) appeals and Richard Wells (Wells) cross-appeals the district court’s order, denying Reliance Standard’s motion for summary judgment and granting Wells’ motion for summary judgment to the extent that the district court remanded the case to Reliance Standard. We reverse and remand.

Because the parties are familiar with the facts and procedural history, we do not restate them here except as necessary to explain our disposition.

We have jurisdiction to review the district court’s remand to Reliance Standard under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Snow v. Standard Ins. Co., 87 F.3d 327, 330 (9th Cir.1996), overruled on other grounds by Kearney v. Standard Ins. Co., 175 F.3d 1084 (9th Cir.1999) (en banc).

When an ERISA plan confers discretion on a plan administrator to determine eligibility for benefits or to construe the terms of the plan, the exercise of that discretion is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Abatie v. Alta Health & Life Ins. Co., 458 F.3d 955, 962-63 (9th Cir.2006) (en banc). If “a benefit plan gives discretion to an administrator or fiduciary who is operating under a conflict of interest, that conflict…