Zac Barron

A divided federal appeals court revived a New York family’s lawsuit against Microsoft and its delegated ERISA plan administrator for denying coverage for their teenage daughter’s long-term psychiatric treatment at a residential facility in Utah. In a 2-1 split, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a federal judge in Salt Lake City gave too much deference to Premera’s coverage determination based on a ‘discretionary authority’ clause in a plan document that the parents ‘had no way of knowing … even existed.’

A divided federal appeals court revived a New York family's lawsuit against Microsoft and its delegated ERISA plan administrator, Premera…