Long Term Disability Law Blog

On March 27, 2008, the NYC Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society filed an amicus curiae brief in the case of MetLife v. Glenn, now pending in the U.S. Supreme Court and waiting for oral argument on April 23, 2008. The brief of the Chapter was proudly filed on a pro bono basis by Riemer & Associates, LLC and Jonathan Feigenbaum.

MetLife v. Glenn is a potentially landmark case, which will address how much deference, if any, a court should give the determination of an insurance company that has an inherent conflict of interest, i.e., when the insurance company both decides claims and pays benefits.

The Chapter's brief argues that Article III of the Constitution requires that Ms. Glenn receive a de novo plenary proceeding; that granting any level of deference to the determination of a conflicted insurance company would constitute an unconstitutional relegation of judicial power.

A copy of the brief could be obtained by clicking here. Download file

On October 24, 2007, I lectured at a Special Workshop on long term disability benefits held in the New York City offices of Friends in Deed. The title of the lecture was "Long-Term Disability Benefits in Danger: Disturbing Trends and Dirty Tricks. This was in conjunction with Per Larson, a financial planner. Friends in Deed is a nonprofit organization in New York City that serves as a crisis center for individuals suffering from life-threatening illnesses. Their website is located at www.friendsindeed.org.

At the workshop, I focussed on the top ten sleezy practices of disability insurance companies. They are:
1. Losing your documents.
2. Misrepresenting conversations with your doctor.
3. Cherrypicking your medical records.
4. Requesting Functional Capacity Evaluations that have no scientific validity.
5. Insisting on objective evidence of pain and fatigue.
6. Evaluating your claim solely on the basis of a "peer review."
7. Characterizing your occupation as sedentary and ignoring its cognitive demands.
8. Moving the goal posts.
9. Putting a wedge between you and your doctor.
10. Pressuring an insured to take a low lump sum settlement.

For more information on the sleezy practices of insurance companies, please see the obtaining benefits section of our website.

On June 7, 2007, I lectured at the 10th National Advanced Forum on Resolving Disability Insurance Claims & Litigation in Boston. The conference is sponsored by the American Conference Institute. The conference included speakers who are leading plaintiff and defense lawyers as well as top medical experts. The topic of my discussion was "Developments in ERISA Claims Handling and Litigation." Attending the conference are plaintiffs and defense lawyers as well as insurance company claims managers. Please take a look at ACI's website for more information, http://americanconference.com

Click here for a copy of the conference brochure:
Download file

Last year, Scott M. Riemer spoke at the 9th National Advanced Forum in Miami. The topic of his discussion at that conference was "Litigating ERISA Disability Claims: Applicability, Discovery and Other Critical Issues."

Scott M. Riemer appeared as the guest speaker at the membership meeting of the Greater New York Chapter of the Vasculitis Foundation held on May 17, 2007. Mr. Riemer addressed potential pitfalls claimants could face when applying for long term disability benefits, particularly with respect to the family of diseases comprising vasculitis. The following diseases comprise vasculitis:

* Behcet's Disease
* Buerger’s Disease
* Central Nervous System
* Churg Strauss Syndrome
* Cryoglobulinemia
* Giant Cell Arteritis (Temporal Arteritis)
* Henoch-Schönlein Purpura
* Hypersensitivity Vasculitis
* Kawasaki Disease
* Microscopic Polyangiitis
* Polyarteritis Nodosa
* Polymyalgia rheumatica
* Rheumatoid Vasculitis
* Takayasu’s Arteritis
* Wegener's Granulomatosis

For more information about vasculitis, please visit the website of the Vasculitis Foundation.

On February 7, 2007, I lectured at a Special Workshop on long term disability benefits held in the New York City offices of Friends in Deed. The title of the lecture was "Long-Term Disability Benefits in Danger: Disturbing Trends and Dirty Tricks. This was in conjunction with Per Larson, a financial planner. Friends in Deed is a nonprofit organization in New York City that serves as a crisis center for individuals suffering from life-threatening illnesses. Their website is located at www.friendsindeed.org.

At the workshop, I focussed on the top ten sleezy practices of disability insurance companies. They are:
1. Losing your documents.
2. Misrepresenting conversations with your doctor.
3. Cherrypicking your medical records.
4. Requesting Functional Capacity Evaluations that have no scientific validity.
5. Insisting on objective evidence of pain and fatigue.
6. Evaluating your claim solely on the basis of a "peer review."
7. Characterizing your occupation as sedentary and ignoring its cognitive demands.
8. Moving the goal posts.
9. Putting a wedge between you and your doctor.
10. Pressuring an insured to take a low lump sum settlement.

For more information on the sleezy practices of insurance companies, please see the obtaining benefits section of our website.