The US Supreme Court has again decided to shed some light on the issue of an ERISA plan’s ability to obtain reimbursement from a participant who recovers a settlement from a third party. The Court announced November 28th that it will decide the issue in MidAtlantic Medical Services, LLC v. Sereboff – a case from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ross Runkel’s Employment Law Blog has a good summary of the case and the issues here. The DOL had filed an Amicus Brief in the case which you can access here.

Those who draft subrogation provisions in plans and have had the occasion of researching the law in a particular jurisdiction with respect to this issue understand how confused the state of the law is, even after the Supreme Court’s decision in Great West. There are some great resources on the topic, however, a few of which are John H. Langbein’s article–“What ERISA Means by “Equitable”: The Supreme Court’s Trail of Error in Russell, Mertens and Great-West“, David Levin’s article–“Recovering Money Owed to Plans: Subrogation Agreements Can Be Enforced” and this one by James Zalewski –“Welcome to the Jungle.” (The title is very apropos.)