Donald R. Powell v. A.T. & T. Communications, Inc.

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that the plaintiff failed to show that exhaustion “would have been an exercise in futility and a useless gesture” because the benefits plan at issue gave “participants the right to pursue a claim for disability benefits even after discharge”
• noting that six circuits require exhaustion of administrative remedies in suits for breach of fiduciary duties under ERISA but that two circuits have declined to impose such a requirement
• discussing Kross v. W. Elec. Co., 701 F.2d 1238, 1244–45 (7th Cir. 1983)
• request for information not sufficient to alert employer that plaintiff wanted to pursue claim
• application of the exhaustion doctrine is “a matter within the discretion of the trial court and may be disturbed on appeal only when there has been a clear abuse of discretion”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).