If an employer is unfortunate enough to be involved in ERISA litigation, having a disciplined and organized administrative process can go a long way toward protecting its interests. The law provides plan administrators with lots of discretion, says Tim O’Toole, a member of law firm Miller & Chevalier, and if the plan administrator has a fair process, and makes a reasoned decision, courts will almost always uphold those decisions even if they might have decided the ultimate question differently.
“Once you’ve gotten to litigation, the die is pretty much cast,” says O’Toole. “Whatever you’ve done is done and what you’re stuck with, for better or for worse.”
