Defendant's Attorney: Brooks R. Magratten and Stanley F. Pupecki

Description: Boston, Massachusetts insurance lawyer lawyers represented the Plaintiff on an ERISA claim.

Scott Cannon, individually and as the personal representative of the estate of Blaise Cannon, appeals
from the grant of summary judgment on ERISA preemption grounds to defendant Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("BCBS") on his state law wrongful death/punitive damages claim. See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 229 § 2. His assertion is that BCBS's denial of insurance coverage for a particular inhaler for Blaise Cannon ("Blaise") prematurely caused Blaise's later death from asthma-related complications. The parties agree that Blaise was a beneficiary of his partner's BCBS health insurance policy through the partner's employer, and that policy was covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq. Cannon's primary contention is that Rutledge v. Pharm.
Care Mgmt. Ass'n, 592 U.S. 80 (2020), overrules prior law and requires reinstatement of the wrongful death/punitive damages suit (the "claim").

Outcome: Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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