Eid v. Duke

ELDRIDGE, Judge.

Jerry Eid, Sr., an employee of Bell Atlantic Corporation (now called Verizon Corporation), along with his wife, filed this tort action against the administrator of his employer’s disability benefits plan and the administrator’s medical consultant. The issue before us is whether the Eids’ tort action is preempted by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 88 Stat. 832, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.

I

Eid, an auto mechanic working for Bell Atlantic, was covered by Bell Atlantic’s Sickness, Accident and Disability Benefit Plan (hereafter referred to as “the…