Benson v. PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL, INC.

731 F. Supp. 2d 1168, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118382, 2008 WL 8038140
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Mexico
DecidedJuly 10, 2008
DocketCIV 07-0587 JB/ACT
StatusPublished

This text of 731 F. Supp. 2d 1168 (Benson v. PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL, INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Mexico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Benson v. PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL, INC., 731 F. Supp. 2d 1168, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118382, 2008 WL 8038140 (D.N.M. 2008).

Opinion

*1170 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES O. BROWNING, District Judge.

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Plaintiffs Motion to Lift Stay Given Defendant’s Position that Plaintiff Must Prove Authenticity, Foundation, and Completeness of the Allsup and Social Security Administration Files Before Seeking to Supplement the Administrative Record, filed May 28, 2008 (Doc. 47)(“Motion to Lift Stay”). The primary issue is whether the Court should lift the stay on discovery and permit Plaintiff Larry Benson to conduct limited discovery which would include taking depositions under rule 30(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to establish the authenticity, foundation, and completeness of documents with which he wishes to supplement the Administrative Record. Because the Court believes that it is unlikely that it will allow Benson to supplement the Administrative Record, the Court will deny his motion to conduct the discovery that he requests.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On April 13, 2005, the Defendants 1 sent Benson a letter encouraging him to seek Social Security disability benefits. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 14, at 3, filed October 17, 2007 (Doc. 18)(“First Amended Complaint”); Answer to Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint ¶ 11, at 3, filed October 29, 2007 (Doc. 21)(“Answer”). Prudential also paid Allsup Inc. to assist Benson in acquiring Social Security disability benefits. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 14, at 3; Answer ¶ 11, at 3. Benson received Social Security disability benefits following his first claim, where the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) determined that Benson was disabled and thus entitled to cash benefits. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 15, at 3; Answer ¶ 12, at 3.

On July 12, 2006, the Prudential Defendants terminated Benson’s long-term disability benefits under the policy. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 18, at 4; Answer ¶ 13, at 3. The Defendants allege that termination of Benson’s benefits was based on information obtained from Benson, from his medical providers, from his employer, and from independent examinations of his medical records. See Answer ¶ 13, at 3. The Defendants note that they denied Benson’s claim after five medical reviews by four different doctors supported denying the claim. See Motion to Lift Stay, Exhibit A, Letter from Brenden Griffin to Richard Sandoval at 2 (dated March 26, 2008). The Defendants also note that the Allsup and SSA documents with which Benson wants to supplement the Administrative Record are dated approximately one year before the date Prudential 2 made its decision to terminate Benson’s long-term disability benefits. See id.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Because Benson’s claim arose from his employer’s group-disability plan, this case is an ERISA case. Under ERISA, this case is treated as an administrative appeal. The Court sits as an appellate court to review the underlying administrative decision. Like with most appeals, the administrative record — claim file — generally remains closed, and the Court reviews that *1171 closed record and the underlying decision under the applicable standard of review.

At the scheduling conference, the Court directed, with the parties’ consent, that the parties be placed on a briefing schedule to allow the Court to rule on some of the key issues of the case before discovery is conducted. See FTR 10:10-10:13 (recorded October 24, 2007). The parties filed their respective briefs, and the Court held a hearing on December 21, 2007. See Defendant’s Motion for Determination of the Applicable Standard of Review and the Scope of Discovery, filed November 16, 2007 (Doc. 25); Plaintiffs Response to Defendant’s Motion [sic] for Determination of the Applicable Standard of Review and the Scope of Discovery, filed December 4, 2007 (Doc 30); Plaintiffs Brief in Support of De Novo Standard of Review or in the Alternative A Sliding Scale Arbitrary and Capricious Standard of Review, filed November 15, 2007 (Doc. 22); Defendants’ Response Brief in Opposition to Plaintiffs Brief in Support of De Novo Standard of Review or in the Alternative a Sliding Scale Arbitrary and Capricious Standard of Review, filed December 4, 2007 (Doc. 31).

Besides the standard-of-review issue, the prior briefing and the December 21, 2007 hearing also addressed: (i) whether the Court should allow Benson to conduct discovery; (ii) whether the Court should allow Benson to supplement the Administrative Record; and (iii) the import, if any, to place on the SSA’s award to Benson during the time when the Defendants were also paying his claim. See Defendant’s Motion for Determination of the Applicable Standard of Review and the Scope of Discovery, filed November 16, 2007 (Doc. 25); Plaintiffs Response to Defendant’s Motion [sic] for Determination of the Applicable Standard of Review and the Scope of Discovery, filed December 4, 2007 (Doc. 30); Plaintiffs Brief in Support of De Novo Standard of Review or in the Alternative A Sliding Scale Arbitrary and Capricious Standard of Review, filed November 15, 2007 (Doc. 22); Defendants’ Response Brief in Opposition to Plaintiffs Brief in Support of De Novo Standard of Review or in the Alternative a Sliding Scale Arbitrary and Capricious Standard of Review, filed December 4, 2007 (Doc. 31).

At the hearing, the Court stated that it was not inclined to grant Benson’s request to take rule 30(b)(6) depositions. See Transcript of Hearing at 22:17-25 (taken December 21, 2007)(“Tr.”). Also at the hearing on December 21, 2007, as to the other issues, the Court ordered that the parties confer over supplementing the Administrative Record with SSA records and with records from Allsup Inc. See Tr. at 24:12-25 (Court, Sandoval & Safarik). The Court requested that the parties inform the Court, by letters or by brief, of their position regarding supplementation of the Administrative Record. If the parties could not agree on supplementation, then they were to brief the issue and provide such briefs or letters to the Court by the end of business on April 7, 2008. See id.

At the December 21, 2007 hearing, however, the Court questioned whether Benson needed the SSA or Allsup Inc. records to argue that the Defendants abused their discretion by not considering those records a year later when it denied his claim. See Tr. at 8:8-15 (Court).

Since the scheduling conference, Benson’s counsel and the Defendants have engaged in detailed, good-faith discussions and negotiations regarding the Administrative Record, on supplementation of the record, and about settlement. The parties conferred by telephone and letter. See Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs Motion to Lift Stay and Position Regarding Sup *1172

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Bluebook (online)
731 F. Supp. 2d 1168, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118382, 2008 WL 8038140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benson-v-prudential-financial-inc-nmd-2008.