Education: Notre Dame Law School
Degree: J.D.
Year: 1983

Key Practice Experience

• ERISA and state law benefit claims litigation
• Health care/financial services litigation
• Commercial litigation

Key Industry Experience

• Employee welfare benefit plans

Representative Cases/Transactions

• Kenitzer v. ReliaStar Life Insurance Co., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5624 (D. Utah Jan. 19, 2011)(summary judgment granted in favor of insurer on the grounds that decision to terminate benefits because claimant did not obtain regular and appropriate care as required under the disability policy was not arbitrary and capricious)
• Erickson v. ING Life Insurance & Annuity Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74231 (D. Id. July 22, 2010)(summary judgment granted on ERISA claims)
• Barinova v. ReliaStar, (3^rd Cir. 2010) (summary judgment upheld on appeal)
• Frisk v. Met. Life Ins. Co.,(D. Minn. 2009) (summary judgment granted on ERISA claim in favor of insurer)
• Schriver v. ReliaStar Life ins. Co., No. CV-07-1639 (D. Az. Dec. 16, 2008) (Summary judgment granted in favor of insurer on long-term disability claim governed by ERISA)
• Byars v. The Coca-Cola Company, 2008 U.S. App. 2850 (11th Cir. 2008) (summary judgment upheld on appeal)
• Weems v. The Coca-Cola Company, et al., (N.D. Ga. 2006) (summary judgment granted on plaintiff’s claim for recovery of plan benefits)
• Palmeri v. The Coca-Cola Company, et al., (N.D. Ga. 2006) (summary judgment granted on plaintiff’s claim for recovery of plan benefits)
• Brucks v. The Coca-Cola Company, (N.D. Ga. 2005) (summary judgment granted).
• Seger v. ReliaStar Life Insurance Company, (N.D. Fla.) (2005) (summary judgment granted upholding denial of disability benefits)
• Martin v. Integrated DisAbility Resources, Inc., (E.D. Mich.) (2005) (summary judgment granted upholding denial of long-term disability benefits)
• Neff v. Bowman & Brooke, (D. Minn. 2004) (motion to dismiss granted on ERISA preemption)
• Elizabeth v. Canada Life Assurance Co.; ReliaStar Life Insurance Co., (9th Cir. 2002) (no claim for bad faith available against ERISA plan’s reinsurer)
• Greenfield v. Rite Aid Corp. and ReliaStar Life Insurance Co., (C.D. Cal. 2001) (summary judgment granted on “equal cost-equal benefit” rule)

Professional Recognitions/Honors

• Page Foundation 2010 Mentor of the Year
• Pro Bono Publico Award, Hennepin County Bar Association, 2001
• Law Clerk, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, The Honorable John F. Kilkenny

Selected Publications/Presentations

• “Dual Role of Claim Administrators, Clinical Review Requirements Under ERISA and Subjective Medical Conditions” (in-service seminar June 2011)
• “Liability, Coverage & Regulatory Issues in and Ever-Changing Environment,” ERISA Panel Moderator (ALFA conference June 2011)
• “ERISA Claims Regulations Involving Use of Health Care Professionals” (webinar June 2011)
• “The Disability Claims Appeals Landscape” (in-service seminar October 2010)
• “ Effective Claims Process Training” (seminar May 2010)
• “Effective Letter Writing for Group Disability Claims” (seminar December 16, 2009)
• “Excess Risk Insurance Roundtable” (seminar December 3, 2009)
• “ERISA: Full and Fair Review” (seminar November 13, 2009)
• “Objective Proof of Disability and Claims Practices” (seminar April 21, 2009)
• “Effective Communications and Claims Practices” (seminar March 12-13, 2009)
• “Misrepresentation in the Life, Health, and Disability Insurance Application Process: A National Survey” (American Bar Association 2009)(Minnesota and North Dakota)
• “What, Me Worry? – ERISA Welfare Plan Litigation,” (Minnesota State Bar Association “Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Practice,” September 28, 2006)
• “Every (Policy) Risk (Decision) Involves Smart Actions – but the Discovery Process is Now Becoming the Rule Rather than the Exception” (seminar July 20, 2006)
• “Embracing the Benefits of a Practical Diversity Program Within the FBA Chapter,” Federal Bar Association National Leadership Program (April 28, 2006)
• “Really Understanding Accelerated Life Insurance Benefit Litigation and Viatical Settlement Provisions,” (Minnesota State Bar Association, March 24, 2005)
• “Reconciling the Practical and Theoretical Aspects of Disability Claims: A Courtroom Perspective on How to Avoid the Courtroom” (seminar July 27, 2004)
• “Designing a Pro Bono Program for Your Firm,” REAL (Minnesota Institute of Legal Education August 27, 2003
• “Life Insurance Fraud Investigation,” (Midwest Fraud Prevention Group July 2000)
• “RICO and ERISA: The Duality Concept,” (Minnesota Institute of Legal Education October 14, 1999)
• “Health Claims Litigation (Contra Proferentum and Estoppel),” (Minnesota State Bar Association Employee Benefits Institute, April 1996)
• “The Arbitrator as Fiduciary Under ERISA: A Misguided Approach,” 32 Am. U.L. Rev. 65 (Fall 1982) (assistance to Bernard Dobranski, Associate Professor of Law)
• “Gifts – The Income Tax Treatment of Net Gifts,” 57 Notre Dame Law. 420 (1981) (co-author)

Professional Associations

• Federal Bar Association (past board member)
• Hennepin County Bar Association
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Wisconsin State Bar Association
• Iowa State Bar Association
• ALFA
• DRI

Community Involvement

• Hennepin County Bar Association Reading Buddies Program
• Page Foundation Mentor Program
• Boy Scouts of America

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota
• Wisconsin
• Iowa
• U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
• U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit

Other Education

• B.A., Albion College, Michigan, magna cum laude
• Rhodes Scholar Nominee, 1980