The district court correctly granted summary judgment to an insurance carrier on the plaintiff’s ERISA claim because its denial of benefits was reasonable under the deferential abuse of discretion standard. Background On April 15, 2013, Mark Grabowski flew from New ...

Tagged with: Benefits

Lipe v. Starr Davis Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-16-0687, 13 pp.) (Chris Dillon, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Since plaintiff’s decedent was already retired when he was diagnosed with the compensable occupational disease of asbestos-related ...

Tagged with: asbestos Benefits Cancer death

Poole v. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-07-0663, 24 pp.) (Wanda Bryant, J.) (Robert C. Hunter, J., concurring in part & dissenting in part) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Holding: After a 1992 injury, ...

Tagged with: Benefits suspended

U.S. v. Mosteller (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-01-0125, 15 pp.) (Keenan, J.) No. 12-4434, Feb. 4, 2014; USDC at Florence, S.C. (Wooten, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A defendant charged with theft of government funds for her continued receipt of veteran’s surviving ...

Tagged with: Benefits Theft

Edgecombe County Dept. of Social Services v. Hickman. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-07-0399, 12 pp.) (Donna Stroud, J.) Appealed from Edgecombe County Superior Court. (Walter H. Godwin, Jr., J.) N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: ...

Tagged with: Benefits Edgecombe County Labor & Employment Standard of Review

Honeycutt v. Honeycutt. Even though the plaintiff-wife claims the parties' separation agreement is unfair and was unfairly pushed upon her by the defendant-husband, since the wife accepted and retains benefits under the separation agreement, she has ratified the agreement and cannot have it rescinded. We affirm the trial court's grant of partial summary judgment for the husband as to the wife's rescission claim.

Tagged with: appeals Benefits Domestic Relations interlocutory Mecklenburg County Ratification Separation Agreement Substantial Right

Grajales v. Ferguson Design, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-08-0973, 6 pp.) (Linda Cheatham, Commissioner) Appealed from Opinion & Award of Deputy Commissioner Robert Wayne Rideout Jr. I.C. No. 196935. Holding: Even though plaintiff suffered a compensable injury to his spleen, ...

Tagged with: Benefits Industrial Commission Insubordination Termination Workers Compensation

Walker v. Department of State Treasurer. Petitioner did not show that respondent ever represented to him that town employees were respondent's agents for purposes of explaining petitioner's retirement benefits; therefore, the representations made by town employees are not binding on respondent. We reluctantly affirm the superior court's order that petitioner repay the retirement benefits paid to him by respondent from January 1996 through November 2006.

Tagged with: Benefits Labor & Employment Public Employees Retirement Rockingham County

Baxter v. Danny Nicholson, Inc. Even though plaintiff did not file a Form 28U after his trial return to work proved unsuccessful, defendant already knew the trial return to work had been unsuccessful when it stopped paying plaintiff benefits. Defendant refused to reinstate those benefits even after a rules change and case law made clear that a Form 28U was not required before benefits were to be reinstated. We affirm the Industrial Commission's award of benefits, including accrued benefits, plus sanctions.

Tagged with: Benefits Industrial Commission Return to Work sanctions Workers Compensation