Kentucky Injury Law Blog

Fantastic article on Sereboff and the future of ERISA remedies from the Workplace Prof Blog.

Sereboff and the Future of ERISA Remedies (click to read the entire article)

By Guest Blogger: Prof. Colleen Medill, University of Nebraska College of Law

This is the first of what I hope will be a regular addition to the Workplace Prof Blog - comments and observations on legal and regulatory developments in employee benefits law. Chief Justice Roberts spoke at the American Law Institute meeting about 30 minutes after the decision in Mid-Atlantic Medical Services v. Sereboff was announced. In his remarks to the ALI members, Chief Justice Roberts characterized Sereboff as one of four decisions announced that morning by the Court that were "9-0" decisions that "simplified" the law. The audience was, of course, duly impressed with the new Chief Justice. Justice Roberts (who wrote Sereboff) could "simplify" ERISA. Wow!

Having had a few days to reflect on the opinion in Sereboff, and its future implications for ERISA remedies, I think "subtle change," rather than "simple," is a more accurate adjective. Although only 11 pages long, with only two footnotes (a true breath of fresh air after Great-West Life & Annuity Ins. Co. v. Knudson, 534 U.S. 204 (2002)), this decision marks a turning point in the Court's philosophical approach to determining the scope of "appropriate equitable relief" under ERISA Section 502(a)(3). This change looks to be at three levels, described below, starting from most narrow to the most far reaching: