White
White v. Guardian Life Insurance Company
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 WILLIAM WHITE, Case No.: 22-cv-1788-L-KSC
Plaintiff,
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
v. MOTION TO ESTABLISH DE NOVO
AS THE APPLICABLE STANDARD
GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE
OF REVIEW
COMPANY, et al., 10 Defendants. [ECF No. 27] 11 In this action for review of Defendant Guardian Life Insurance Company’s denial of Plaintiff’s claim for accidental death and dismemberment benefits, Plaintiff filed a motion to establish de novo as the applicable standard of review under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001–1193c. (ECF No. 27.) Defendant opposed, arguing that an abuse-of-discretion standard applies, (ECF No. 30), and Plaintiff replied, (ECF No. 31). For the reasons stated below, Plaintiff’s motion is denied. A denial of benefits challenged under ERISA “is to be reviewed under a de novo standard unless the benefit plan gives the administrator or fiduciary discretionary authority to determine eligibility for…