McCulloch

BACKGROUND

19 Plaintiff was an Employee Benefits Insurance Agent for BB&T Corporation from June 2015 20 to March 2018. Defendant Hartford Life Insurance Company (“Hartford Life”) is an insurance plan 21 provider for BB&T Corporation. Plaintiff is a covered participant of Hartford Life’s Long Term 22 Disability (“LTD”) Plan. On November 20, 2019, Hartford Life denied plaintiff’s LTD claim. 23 On December 2, 2019, plaintiff filed a first amended complaint against Hartford Life 24 alleging Hartford Life violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 when 25 26 1 Hartford Life’s LTD plan provides that Hartford Life will pay a monthly disability benefit 27 to an employee issued under the plan if Hartford Life receives proof of continued disability after a Hartford Life denied plaintiff’s LTD claim. Dkt. No. 4. On September 8, 2020 and September 23, 2020, the parties submitted statements requesting the case proceed in two separate phases. Dkt. No. 26; 29. The parties agreed that the first phase of litigation (hereinafter “disability phase”) was to determine whether plaintiff was “disabled from her own occupation” during the relevant…