STEVENS v. CABARRUS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

**Stevens v. Cabarrus County Board of Education** This case involved a dispute over a disability insurance policy's cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) provision. Patricia Stevens, who appears to have been receiving disability benefits, disagreed with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company about how her policy's COLA rider should be interpreted. The COLA rider was designed to help adjust benefit payments over time, but Stevens and the insurance company had different views on what the policy language meant regarding these adjustments. The court sided with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and dismissed Stevens' claims entirely. The judge granted the insurance company's motion for judgment on the pleadings, which means the court decided the case based solely on the written documents without needing a full trial. The court found that Stevens' interpretation of the COLA rider language was incorrect. **What this means for workers:** This case highlights the importance of carefully reading and understanding disability insurance policy language before purchasing coverage. When insurance policies contain complex provisions like COLA riders, the insurance company's interpretation often prevails in court unless the policy language is clearly ambiguous. Workers should consider having insurance policies reviewed by professionals and ask detailed questions about benefit adjustments before signing up for coverage.