Geddes v. United Staffing Alliance Employee Medical Plan

What Happened
An employee sued United Staffing Alliance's medical plan after being denied benefits. The employee argued that because the plan administrator had hired an outside company to review benefit claims, the court should take a fresh look at the denial decision without giving any special weight to the administrator's judgment.

What the Court Decided
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the employee. The court said that even when a plan administrator delegates benefit reviews to an independent third party, courts must still use a very lenient standard when reviewing benefit denials. This means courts will only overturn a denial if the decision was completely unreasonable or made in bad faith - not if they simply disagree with it.

Why This Matters for Workers
This ruling makes it harder for workers to successfully challenge denials of employee benefits in court. When your employer's benefit plan denies a claim, courts will give significant deference to that decision, even if an outside company made the review. Workers facing benefit denials should understand that winning in court requires proving the denial was not just wrong, but unreasonable or made in bad faith - a much higher bar to meet.