Crandall v. McDonough

**Crandall v. McDonough: Worker Wins Fight Over Denied Benefits** This case involved Michael Holt, who worked for Raytheon Technologies Corporation and was denied benefits under his employee benefit plan. When Holt applied for benefits he believed he was entitled to under ERISA (a federal law that protects employee benefit plans), the plan administrator rejected his claim. Holt sued to challenge this denial. The court sided with Holt and ruled against the defendants. The judge denied the company's request to dismiss the case and ordered that Holt's benefit claim be sent back to the plan administrator for a new review. The court also awarded Holt $93,028.25 to cover his attorney's fees and $1,597.20 for court costs, totaling $94,625.45. **What this means for workers:** This ruling shows that employees can successfully challenge denied benefit claims in court. When companies or plan administrators wrongly deny benefits, workers have legal rights and can fight back. The fact that the court ordered the company to pay the employee's legal fees is particularly important—it means workers may not have to worry about expensive legal costs when pursuing legitimate benefit claims they've been wrongfully denied.