KAITLYN E. LUTHER
PARTNER
Kaitlyn focuses her practice on insurance and commercial litigation matters, including life insurance rescission, interpleader, and lapse cases; STOLI litigation; ERISA-related claims litigation; healthcare litigation; tort claims; and commercial disputes in state and federal courts across the country. Kaitlyn also consults regularly on life, health, and disability insurance regulatory matters.
Education/Admissions
EDUCATION
- JD, University of Illinois College of Law, 2012, summa cum laude. Kaitlyn was the Editor-in-Chief of The Elder Law Journal and a member of the winning team for the HNBA Moot Court Internal Competition (Best Brief, Best Oralist, Best Overall) and the HNBA Moot Court External Team that won 2nd place for its Respondent’s Brief and 4th place overall in 2012. During law school, Kaitlyn served as a judicial clerk for Judge Amy J. St. Eve in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and as an intern for the National Women’s Law Center, Education and Employment Group. After law school, Kaitlyn served as a judicial clerk for Judge Raymond W. Mitchell in the Circuit Court of Cook County Law Division.
- MS, Northeastern Illinois University, Mathematics, 2009.
- BA, Haverford College, Mathematics and English, 2004.
ADMISSIONS
Kaitlyn is licensed to practice in Illinois and is admitted to the following federal courts:
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits
- United States District Courts for the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois
- United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana
- United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan
- United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin
- United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
- United States District Courts for the District of North Dakota
- United States District Courts for the Western District of Arkansas
Practice Highlights
Kaitlyn recently obtained the following judgments for her clients:
- A motion to dismiss ERISA benefits and breach of fiduciary claims and state law breach of contract claims in a case seeking group life benefits under coverage that terminated before the insured died;
- A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim in a case seeking life insurance benefits in which the benefit check had been issued to the plaintiff but purportedly never received or negotiated;
- A motion for judgment on the administrative record for failure to exhaust administrative remedies and on the merits in a case seeking accidental death benefits under an ERISA-governed plan in which the insured’s death was excluded under the plan and where the claimant had failed to exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit.
Kaitlyn has also successfully argued a case seeking administrative review of the Illinois Department of Insurance’s denial of a public adjuster’s license, successfully defended and tried a case seeking reimbursement of insurance premiums in Cook County’s First Municipal Department, successfully argued a case seeking unemployment benefits from the Illinois Department of Unemployment Security, and obtained attorney’s fees in a multiple federal interpleader actions.
Publications
Kaitlyn annually contributes to Recent Developments in Health Insurance, Life Insurance, and Disability Insurance Case Law, published in the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal. Kaitlyn also regularly writes and speaks on litigation issues, including the following recent presentations:
- You Be the Judge: Accidental Death Scenarios at the 2023 Defense Research Institute Life, Health, Disability and ERISA Seminar
- Life Insurance Intrigue: Divorce, Murder & Fraud – Who Gets the Money? at the 2025 TIPS 49th Annual Midwinter Symposium on Employee Benefits, ERISA, Life, Health & Disability Insurance, and Insurance Regulation
Professional Awards
Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service, 2019
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in conjunction with the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, recognized Sean MacCarthy and Kaitlyn Luther for their work in the Sanchez Guzman v. Mera Cabrera case. This case was a proceeding under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act. They were nominated for the award by U.S. District Court Judge John Z. Lee and attorney Julia Lissner.
