The Paradox of the Misuse of Administrative Law in Erisa Benefit Claims

Abstract

Employee benefit claims brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) have been mistakenly adjudicated under an administrative law model rather than as any other civil action brought before the federal court. This article discusses the impropriety of the use of an administrative law paradigm in litigation of ERISA benefit disputes and suggests a more appropriate way of resolving claim disputes.

Keywords: ERISA, administrative law, benefits, summary judgment, trials, standard of review, scope of review, discovery, administrative exhaustion

JEL Classification: J32, K39