Joseph J. Flacche and Ella M. Flacche v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (u.s.)

How courts have described this case

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

• holding that personalized pension estimates could not amend the clear terms of the summary plan description
• holding that personalized pension estimates could not amend the clear terms of the summary plan description
• holding that even “formal statements made to beneficiaries concerning the plan or benefits, which are relied upon by the beneficiaries,” are not enforceable if not part of a summary plan document
• noting that ERISA “creates a strong incentive to write the [summary plan description] carefully, and it gives beneficiaries an understandable document upon which they can rely”
• noting that ERISA “creates a strong incentive to write the [summary plan description] carefully, and it gives beneficiaries an understandable document upon which they can rely”
• concluding at the summary judgment stage that Sun Life only performed ministerial functions because “mere payment of claims is insufficient to give Sun Life discretionary control over the management of plan assets . . . .”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).