Executive Spouse v. ERISA Benefit Plan for Large Corporation

I successfully represented an ERISA plan and plan administrator in a suit where a participant's spouse, during the course of a divorce, sought a share of the participant's retirement benefits via a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). The QDRO that she sought was contrary to the plan's terms and it was denied by the plan administrator. Unhappy with the plan administrator's actions, the spouse sued in federal court to force a particular apportionment of the retirement benefits. Invoking the discretion conferred upon administrators, and highlighting some related procedural shortcomings in the spouse's efforts, I was able to obtain a dismissal of the suit.