Mary Fontaine v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co

HAMILTON, Circuit Judge.

In 1989, the Supreme Court held that courts should apply de novo review in suits challenging denials of employee benefits governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, better known as ERISA. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch, 489 U.S. 101, 115, 109 S.Ct. 948, 103 L.Ed.2d 80 (1989); see 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1). But there was a catch. If the benefit plan provided expressly for a different, more deferential standard of review, Firestone said, that specific provision would control over the default rule of de novo review. 489 U.S. at 115, 109 S.Ct. 948.…