Court Documents

• Denial of benefits compalint.
• Stipulation to dismiss.

Summary of Lawsuit

The Plaintiff, John Graham, was an employee of Tosco, which was then bought up by ConocoPhillips. At some point, Mr.Graham becams disabled (a "severe degenerative disc desease of the lumbar spine, a headache syndrome, and a tear of the medial meniscus of his right knee") and submitted a claim to the insurance company, Prudential. Prudential initially approved benefits, but later reviewed the decission and denied ongoing disability benefits.

Plaintff sued for benefits under the plan and for the administrator's alleged refusal to provide copies of the plan document. Plainitff alleges that his attorney requested a "copy of the summary plan description" and that neither ConocoPhillips nor Prudential provided him with a copy. The ERISA requires that a plan administrator must respond to a request for a copy of certain plan documents within 30 days. The failure to do so subjects the administrator to a penalty of $110 per day in which the documents are not produced.

Shortly after the case was filed, the parties mediated the case and reached a settlement of $100,000.