Hintz v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ROBERT M. DOW, JR., District Judge.

In several recent rulings, the Seventh Circuit has emphasized that district court de novo review of benefits denials under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) is not “review” at all. See, e.g., Diaz v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 499 F.3d 640, 644 (7th Cir.2007) (observing that confusion in this realm may be at least partially a product of the “common phrase” de novo review). Rather, when the de novo standard applies, a denial of benefits under an ERISA plan becomes essentially an ordinary contract…