Mary Boyd v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co

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Plaintiffs, relatives of a participant of a life insurance plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), sued Metropolitan Life Insurance Company ("Metlife") when Metlife awarded life insurance benefits to the participant's husband. At issue was whether Metlife had fulfilled its statutory duty under ERISA by awarding benefits to the husband where the husband was legally separated from the participant at the time of her death and where the husband was also the beneficiary designated in the documents the participant filed with the plan. The court held that Metlife did fulfill its duties under ERISA in light of Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings & Investment Plan and therefore, by extension, the "plan documents rule."