Blair v. Metropolitan Life Insurance

MEMORANDUM OPINION

VIRGINIA EMERSON HOPKINS, ■ United States District Judge

I. Introduction and Procedural History

On August 22, 2013, Plaintiff Sharon Blair (“Ms. Blair”) initiated this long-term disability benefits case against Defendant Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (“MetLife”) in the Circuit Court of Etowah County. (Doc. 1-1 at 2-4; Doc. 29-1 at 2-4).1 MetLife removed Ms. Blair’s state court action to this court on September 26, 2013, on the basis of federal preemption under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). (Doc. 1; id. at 2-3 ¶¶ 5-6).

Prior to that, on…