Linda B. Jones v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America

223 F.3d 130, 23 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 2561, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 259
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJanuary 11, 2000
Docket1999
StatusPublished
Cited by180 cases

This text of 223 F.3d 130 (Linda B. Jones v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Linda B. Jones v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, 223 F.3d 130, 23 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 2561, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 259 (2d Cir. 2000).

Opinions

KEARSE, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Linda B. Jones appeals principally from so much of a final judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Kevin Thomas Duffy, Judge, as denied her attorney’s fees and a higher rate of prejudgment interest in connection with her successful claim against defendant UNUM Life Insurance Company of America (“UNUM”) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. (1994) (“ERISA”), for long-term disability benefits. She also appeals from so much of a postjudgment order as denied her requests for reconsideration of the denial of such relief and for other relief related to the district court’s remand to UNUM for consideration of Jones’s entitlement to additional disability benefits. Jones pursues these requests on this appeal. UNUM argues, inter alia, that this Court lacks appellate jurisdiction because Jones’s notice of appeal was untimely. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the appeal is timely; we affirm so much of the judgment as declined to deal in advance with UNUM’s potential determination of Jones’s disability claim for additional periods; and we vacate so much of the judgment as denied Jones attorney’s fees and a higher rate of prejudgment interest, and remand for further proceedings with respect to those issues.

I. BACKGROUND

Briefly summarized, the facts found by the district court on the basis of the parties’ stipulations and a one-day bench trial are as follows. From August 1992 until April 29, 1994, Jones was employed as a legal administrator at a law firm and was covered by a long-term disability policy issued by UNUM to an affiliated firm (the “Group Policy”). As her coverage under the Group Policy was to end on the date her employment with the firm ended, Jones obtained from UNUM a “conversion policy” of insurance to take effect upon the termination of her employment at the firm.

Since at least February 1993, Jones has been seeking medical attention for severe back and shoulder pain, degenerative spinal disease, and inflammatory conditions. On April 28, 1994, she aggravated her back condition while packing and moving boxes in her office. She has been unable to work since that time; her doctors testified at trial that her condition prevents her from performing her former work as a legal administrator for the firm. She has been receiving Social Security disability benefits dating back to that date.

In October 1994, Jones applied to UNUM for long-term disability benefits, claiming disability since April 28, 1994. UNUM, as plan administrator, denied her application; it discredited her medical evidence of disability and concluded that she did not become disabled while covered under the Group Policy. Jones pursued an administrative appeal, which UNUM also denied. She then commenced the present action under ERISA, seeking, inter alia, disability benefits, return of the premiums paid on the conversion policy, prejudgment interest, and attorney’s fees.

In an Opinion dated November 6, 1998 (“Opinion”), the district court ruled in favor of Jones on the merits of her disability claim. Noting that the Group Policy provides for no payments for the first 180 days of disability, see Opinion at *6 n.8, and l-equires that disability determinations be re-reviewed after 24 months of payments, see id. at *2 n. 2, the court found that Jones was entitled to disability payments for at least 24 months starting in October 1994:

[T]he evidence before the court reflects that ... the judgment of UNUM’s benefit analysts should not be credited over the judgment of the trained medical doctors that submitted evidence on Jones’ behalf. Jones should have been granted benefits under UNUM’s Group Policy from October 1994. The matter of [135]*135whether Jones remains “currently” disabled beyond the first 24 months of her claim must be remanded to UNUM for determination in accordance with the terms of the Group Policy. See Kennedy v. Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 989 F.2d 588, 594 (2d Cir.1993) (exhaustion of administrative remedies required before judicial review).
Finding as such, I also grant Jones’ request for prejudgment interest. See Algie v. RCA Global Communications, Inc., 891 F.Supp. 875 (S.D.N.Y.1994). As the court found in Algie, I find that the applicable rate of interest should be calculated according to the post-judgment interest provision set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1961.

Opinion at *5-6 (footnotes omitted). The court denied Jones’s requests for other relief, stating as follows:

Jones’ request for return of her premiums under the Conversion Policy is denied, as she paid these premiums for her own benefit after the time the Group Policy terminated. Her request for attorneys’ fees is also denied.

Id. at *6. Final judgment was entered in accordance with the Opinion on November 16, 1998 (“Judgment”).

On November 30, 1998, Jones filed a motion titled “Plaintiffs Motion for Relief from Judgment Pursuant to FRCP 60(b)(6),” seeking principally (1) reconsideration of the court’s denial of attorney’s fees, (2) a modification of the judgment to provide a rate of interest higher than the rate provided in § 1961 in order to reflect more accurately her financial losses; and (3) reconsideration of the denial of her request for a refund of premiums paid on the conversion policy. She also asked the court to retain jurisdiction over UNUM’s determination of her entitlement to further benefits.

In an Order dated January 12, 1999, entered on January 13, 1999 (“Post-judgment Order”), the district court granted the motion in part and denied it in part, stating only as follows:

Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(6), Linda B. Jones moves for relief from my Opinion issued November 6, 1998 granting her disability benefits for a twenty-four month period, denying her request for attorneys’ fees and denying her request for return of her conversion policy premiums. It is hereby
ORDERED, that her motion for return of her conversion policy premiums is granted and that UNUM pay interest on the amount returned as set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1961; and, it is further
ORDERED, that the remaining items of relief she seeks in her motion are denied.

Jones filed her notice of appeal from the Judgment and from the Postjudgment Order on February 9,1999.

II. DISCUSSION

On appeal, Jones pursues the relief denied her in the district court. UNUM, while arguing that the rulings challenged by Jones are correct, urges us to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that Jones’s notice of appeal was not filed within 30 days of entry of the Judgment and that no motion was filed that extended the normal 30-day deadline.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Marty Walsh v. Adam Vinoskey
19 F.4th 672 (Fourth Circuit, 2021)
FDIC v. Chicago Title Insurance Compa
12 F.4th 676 (Seventh Circuit, 2021)
Bricklayers v. Moulton Masonry
Second Circuit, 2015

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
223 F.3d 130, 23 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 2561, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/linda-b-jones-v-unum-life-insurance-company-of-america-ca2-2000.