Federal Case

How courts have described this case

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

• holding that state law policy of construing ambiguities in favor of the insured could not govern interpretation of ERISA policy
• reasoning that terms in ERISA plans are “specifically written for and targeted toward laypersons” and should be given their ordinary meanings
• stating that an ERISA plan’s terms “should be accorded their ordinary, and not specialized, meaning[].”
• defining \mental illness\ based on symptoms when policies at issue did not define the phrase \mental illness\
• “[Ljayper-sons are inclined to focus on the symptoms of an illness; illnesses whose primary symptoms are depression, mood swings and unusual behavior are commonly characterized as mental illnesses regardless of their cause.”
• considering mood disorders to be mental illnesses

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).