Unum Ordered To Produce Witnesses For Depositions

Unum has a reputation for doing anything it can to avoid discovery when disabled claimants sue for benefits that were wrongfully denied or terminated under an ERISA long term disability plan. In one of my cases, Unum recently argued that my client should not be entitled to any discovery at all. Because of its bad reputation, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer rejected Unum's position. A copy of the decision can be found in Court Decisions under the Resources tab on my website.

Calling Unum’s history of biased disability claims administration "regrettable," Judge Engelmayer approved three depositions and written discovery. Addressing Unum’s typical vigorous objections to discovery, the court provided a detailed analysis as to why discovery was appropriate, especially given Unum’s poor claims administration history. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Glenn v. MetLife, Judge Engelmayer refused to take Unum’s word that it had corrected its ways since it was forced to agree to the RSA reassessment.