Daic
Daic v. Hawaii Pacific Health Group Plan for Employees of Hawaii Pacific Health
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
The district court did not err in evaluating Daic’s claim under the abuse of discretion standard. A court reviews an ERISA challenge to a denial of benefits under an abuse of discretion standard if “the benefit plan gives the administrator or fiduciary discretionary authority to determine eligibility for benefits or to construe the terms of the plan.” Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch, 489 U.S. 101, 115 , 109 S.Ct. 948 , 103 L.Ed.2d 80 (1989). Daic’s plan provides:
This language in Daic’s plan unambiguously delegates discretionary authority to MetLife to construe the terms of the plan, and therefore the district court applied the correct standard. See id.; see also McDaniel v. Chevron Corp., 203 F.3d 1099, 1107-08 (9th Cir.2000).
Daic argues that MetLife is not a named fiduciary in the plan and therefore its decisions should not be reviewed for abuse of discretion. However, the language from the plan quoted above sufficiently identifies MetLife as a fiduciary for purposes of ERISA. See 29 U.S.C. § 1002 (21)(A) (defining a “fiduciary” as an entity with “any discretionary authority” in the “administration of’ an ERISA plan); see also Saffon v. Wells Fargo & Co.…