- Blog
- January 19th, 2016
The Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion today in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, 577 U.S. ___ (2016). This ERISA reimbursement case was decided on the issue of whether or not dissipation of settlement funds by the plan participant defeated a plan's claim for equitable relief under §502(a)(3). In an eight-to-one decision by the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas held that when a plan participant dissipates settlement funds on non-traceable assets, which would otherwise be subject to an equitable lien by agreement, the plan is not permitted to assert a claim against the participant's general assets.
This case resolved a split among the Circuits, which were in disagreement over whether an equitable lien by agreement could be enforced when the person has dissipated the fund to which the lien attached.
- Blog
- November 17th, 2015
SCOTUS Discusses Attorney Liability in Self-Funded ERISA Cases: A Sneak Peek into the Mindset of the Justices in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan
Last Monday, November 9, 2015, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether dissipation of settlement funds would defeat recovery of a purported equitable lien by a self-funded ERISA plan in the matter of Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, No. 14-723. The oral arguments gave some insight into the Justices’ thinking regarding lawyer liability in this setting.
This case will ultimately turn on the Justices’ determination as to when an “equitable lien by agreement” attaches, and therefore whether dissipation of the settlement funds defeats a lien claimed by a self-funded ERISA plan.
- Articles
- October 13th, 2015
In 2006, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Eight Circuit’s decision in Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268 (2006), which has shaped the way State Medicaid programs are able to recover against Medicaid beneficiaries in third party lawsuits. As a result of Ahlborn, Medicaid’s recovery of third party settlement proceeds, at most, is limited to the amount of the settlement attributable to past medical expenses.
Precision Resolution, LLC and our staff of attorneys have had great success over the past several years significantly reducing or, even eliminating, Medicaid liens in New York State. Since 2011, Precision Resolution has put over $38 million back into the pockets of plaintiffs by negotiating and eliminating Medicaid, Medicare, self-funded ERISA plans, and other types of liens against the settlement in single claimant actions. Most importantly however, is that during this time period, hundreds of plaintiffs’ counsels, by deferring these complicated issues to Precision’s legal experts, have been able to focus on what gets them paid: their personal injury practices.
