Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Health & Welfare Fund Ex Rel. Bunte v. American International Group, Inc.

SYKES, Circuit Judge.

A self-funded ERISA plan has sued several independent health insurers seeking reimbursement for medical expenses it paid on behalf of beneficiaries who were covered under both the plan and the insurers’ policies. We’re asked to decide whether a lawsuit like this one—a “coordination of benefits” dispute—seeks “appropriate equitable relief’ under section 502(a)(3) of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3). Six circuits have held that section 502(a)(3) does not authorize suits of this type because the relief sought is legal, not equitable. We join this consensus and affirm the…