The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has favored Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company in a dispute over disability insurance payment offsets. This dispute involves former mortgage underwriter Jill Finley, who became permanently disabled in 2007. Finley received long-term disability benefits from her employer’s group policy with Reliance Standard. However, after Finley was awarded Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the insurer reduced her monthly payments due to a policy clause that allows the deduction of any Other Income Benefits. Finley’s legal guardian, Nancy Stark, sued after Reliance temporarily discontinued Finley’s benefits. Stark argued the SSDI offsets were improper, alleging failure from Reliance to provide relevant documents and pressuring Finley to apply for SSDI. Stark also requested reimbursement of SSDI-related deductions and the cover of legal costs incurred during the appeal. The court upheld established principles around Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) claims, including the narrow chances of obtaining attorney’s fees and the required exhaustion of administrative remedies before filing a lawsuit.

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