Elizabeth Doolin spoke at the 2009 Eastern Claims Conference in New York City on March 2, 2009. The topic of the presentation was: “Advanced Deposition Preparation: Beyond the Nuts and Bolts.”
Related Member
Elizabeth G. Doolin
District Court Judge Elaine Bucklo of the Northern District of Illinois entered summary judgment in favor of CMN client, First Commonwealth Insurance Company, in a class action brought on behalf of a putative class of dental HMO members under Section 1132(a)(1)(b) of ERISA and the federal common law of promissory estoppel. The class plaintiff contended that First Commonwealth’s marketing brochure and use of market data from outside sources to establish the fee schedule of dental charges in defined geographic areas to determine plan participants’ copayments was misleading.
In ruling for First Commonwealth, the Court adopted CMN’s primary arguments that the named class representative failed to exhaust administrative remedies under ERISA and that he failed to show there were any knowing misrepresentations in the plan documents. The Court also held that it was unreasonable for the plaintiff to rely on the brochure alone since it referred plan participants to other plan documents which provided a more complete description of plan benefits. Upon entry of summary judgment for First Commonwealth, Judge Bucklo then denied the motion for class certification as moot.
The decision in Kaden v. First Commonwealth, No. 05 C 2212, clarifies the law with respect to the exhaustion of administrative remedies doctrine and the requirement that any ERISA estoppel claim must be supported by a knowing misrepresentation. The winning briefs were written by CMN member, David Schmidt, with the assistance of associate, Joseph Jeffery. See attached Memorandum Opinion and Order.
Related Documents
Memorandum Opinion and Order
Related Members
David F. Schmidt
Joseph J. Hasman
Joseph R. Jeffery
Chittenden, Murday & Novotny LLC proudly announces that Michael B. Galibois has been named a Member of the Firm effective January 2009. Mike’s practice is focused on representing the Firm’s clients in a wide variety of litigation matters in state and federal courts.
Related Member
Michael B. Galibois
CMN attorney Joe Jeffery’s article addressing evidentiary issues in ERISA cases were featured in the Defense Research Institute publication, The Voice, on January 21, 2009. See attached article.
Related Documents
Featured Article
Related Members
William A. Chittenden, III
Joseph R. Jeffery
Chittenden, Murday & Novotny’s article “Recent Developments in Health Insurance, Life Insurance, and Disability Insurance Case Law” was recently published in the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Law Journal at 43-3 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 473 (Spring 2008).
Related Documents
Recent Developments Article
Related Members
William A. Chittenden, III
Elizabeth G. Doolin
Michael B. Galibois
David F. Schmidt
Joseph J. Hasman
Jennifer S. Stegmaier
Joseph R. Jeffery
Julie F. Wall
Related Associates
Craig M. Bargher
Georgia J. Joyce
Stuart F. Primack
Vittorio F. Terrizzi
Bill Chittenden and Don Murday were named Leading Lawyers in commercial litigation by the Leading Lawyers Network. Dave Novotny was named a Leading Lawyer in the area of Class Action Defense and Insurance/Reinsurance Litigation. Distinction as a “Leading Lawyer” is attained as a result of a rigorous selection process that focuses on recommendations from peers in the lawyer’s particular practice area followed by extensive discussion with other highly regarded lawyers in the same area of practice. Less than 5% of all lawyers in the State of Illinois are selected for this distinction.
Related Members
William A. Chittenden, III
Donald A. Murday
David J. Novotny
Don Murday spoke at the Association of Life Insurance Counsel’s 2008 Annual Meeting held at The Homestead in Virginia on May 20, 2008. The topic of the presentation was: “Managing Electronically Stored Information While Retaining Your Sanity: Strategies for Minimizing Costs and Maximizing Efficiency.” See attached article.
Related Documents
Presentation Document
Related Members
Donald A. Murday
Elizabeth G. Doolin
Joseph R. Jeffery
Julie F. Wall
Related Associates
Craig M. Bargher
Elizabeth Doolin spoke at the 2008 Eastern Claims Conference in New York City on February 26, 2008. The topic of the presentation was: “Life Insurance Case Update – Fresh Disasters”. This presentation covered current and developing topics in life insurance claim litigation.
Related Member
Elizabeth G. Doolin
Chittenden, Murday & Novotny’s article “Recent Developments in Health Insurance, Life Insurance, and Disability Insurance Case Law” was recently published in the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Law Journal at 42:2 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 511 (Winter 2007). See attached article.
Related Documents
Recent Developments Article
Related Members
William A. Chittenden, III
Elizabeth G. Doolin
Michael B. Galibois
David F. Schmidt
Joseph J. Hasman
Jennifer S. Stegmaier
Joseph R. Jeffery
Julie F. Wall
Related Associates
Craig M. Bargher
Georgia J. Joyce
Vittorio F. Terrizzi
Chittenden, Murday & Novotny LLC proudly announces that Law & Politics Magazine and the publishers of Chicago Magazine have named Dave Novotny a 2007 “Super Lawyer.” The process began with thousands of ballots sent to attorneys across the State of Illinois asking them to nominate the best lawyers they had “personally observed.” A panel of recognized top lawyers in the commercial/business litigation practice area was assembled to review the nominations and evaluation criteria. Through this process, the panel identified the nominees with the highest scores. The attorneys chosen represent the top 5% of attorneys in the State of Illinois.
Related Member
David J. Novotny
