Summary Judgment Affirmed for Dowd Bennett Client
On Friday, December 21, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of Anheuser-Busch in the matter of Robert D. Carr v. Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. The plaintiff had claimed ERISA benefits under an Anheuser-Busch severance plan following his involuntary termination. After discovery, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Anheuser-Busch on the ERISA claim and then dismissed the plaintiff’s state law claim. Following oral argument, the Eighth Circuit held that the abuse of discretion standard was correctly applied by the district court in reviewing and upholding the ERISA plan administrator’s decision to deny benefits. John Comerford, Jim Bennett and Megan Heinsz represented Anheuser-Busch.