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Price v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company

N.D. Cal.March 22, 2023No. 3:22-cv-04300
Plaintiff WinMedtronic, Inc.$48,120 awarded
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Case Details

Nature of Suit — the legal category of the dispute
Labor: E.R.I.S.A.
Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
Unknown
Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
motion to dismiss

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Claim Types

Failure to Accommodate

Outcome

Plaintiff employee Price prevailed in an ERISA benefits dispute against Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, securing reinstatement of long-term disability benefits and an award of $48,120 in attorney's fees after the court reduced his initial request of $76,545.

What This Ruling Means

Price v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company

What Happened
An employee named Price worked for Medtronic, Inc. and received long-term disability benefits through Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company. The insurance company stopped paying his benefits, which he believed was wrongfully done. Price took the company to court, arguing that Reliance Standard violated his rights under his disability insurance plan.

What the Court Decided
The court sided with Price. The judge ordered Reliance Standard to restart his long-term disability benefits and pay him $48,120 in attorney's fees (the company had to cover the costs of his legal representation, though the judge reduced his original request from $76,545).

Why This Matters for Workers
This case shows that when insurance companies deny disability benefits unfairly, employees can fight back in court and win. If successful, workers may recover lost benefits plus the money they spent on lawyers. This protects employees who rely on disability coverage and demonstrates that companies cannot simply cut off benefits without legal justification.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

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This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes, claim types, and summaries are extracted using AI analysis and may be incomplete or inaccurate. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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