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Black and Decker Disability Plan v. Nord April 28, 2003 (02-469) return to case listing Case Summary Respondent had severe back and leg pain associated with degenerative disk disease. With his doctors recommendation, Respondent quit his job and filed a claim with the Petitioner for up to thirty months of long-term disability benefits. This claim was denied and as part of the review, Respondent saw a doctor referred by the disability plan for an independent evaluation. This doctor determined that Respondent could work with sufficient medication. After the review, Petitioner again denied Respondent's claim even though two other doctors and a human resources evaluator believed that Respondent could not work. Respondent filed suit claiming that Petitioner's action was arbitrary and violated ERISA. The court held the Petitioner had not abused its discretion and that no violation of ERISA occurred. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and held that ERISA requires application of the treating physician rule, which places more weight on the opinion of the employee's physician. The opinion of the Ninth Circuit is found at 296 F.3d 823. To see the opinion of the lower court, click here. PREDICTED OUTCOME ACTUAL OUTCOME Forecasting Model Expert One Expert Two Expert Three 8-1 to Reverse 8-1 to Affirm n/a n/a 9-0 to Reverse VOTING TO REVERSE Rehnquist O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg Breyer Breyer Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg Breyer VOTING TO AFFIRM Stevens Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg   return to case listing