Retirement Security Law Commons^™

Discretionary Language, Conflicts Of Interest, And Standard Of Review For Erisa Disability Plans, Peter A. Meyers

Seattle University Law Review

This article introduces the reader to disability insurance in Part II. Part III examines how ERISA is a mixture of different law and how that mixture led to discretionary clauses being inserted and the re- suiting severe conflicts of interest. Part IV looks at <em>Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch</em>, the seminal ERISA case on conflicts of interest. Part V examines the contributions that the Ninth Circuit has made to ERISA conflict of interest law. Part VI discusses scope of review and discovery and Part VII concludes that insurers should be strictly regulated in ERISA plans.