Herinckx v. Sanelle

Plaintiffs appeal from a limited judgment dismissing their claim against defendant Stancorp Financial Group, Inc., dba Standard Insurance Company (Standard). Plaintiffs raise two assignments of error. First, they contend that the trial court erred by granting Standard’s motion to dismiss based on its determination, as applied here, that ORS 112.515 (part of Oregon’s so-called “slayer statutes”) is preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1973 (ERISA). Because, as applied here, ORS 112.515 is “related to” an “employee benefit plan,” we hold that ERISA preempts the…