SG recommends grant in ERISA, capital cases

Earlier this afternoon, the Solicitor General recommended the Court grant certiorari in Amschwand v. Spherion Corp. (07-841) and Harbison v. Bell  (07-8521). Click here to read the government’s brief in Amschwand, which asks whether a participant or beneficiary in an ERISA health benefits plan may sue for the insurance benefits that would have been available but for a violation of a plan administrator’s duty, and here to read the government’s brief in Harbison, which involves whether prisoners sentenced under state law have the right to federally appointed and funded counsel to pursue clemency under state law.

Also this afternoon, the Solicitor General recommended the Court deny certiorari in Board of Education of New York v. Gulino (07-270) and Clark County, Nev. v. Vacation Village (07-373). Click here to read the government’s brief in Gulino, involving the legal liability for allegedly racially discriminatory tests for determining the qualifications of public school teachers, and here to read the brief in Clark County, asking whether federal law bars states from recognizing a property owner’s rights to compensation for use of navigable airspace up to 500 feet above the property.

Finally, the Solicitor General recommended the Court hold the petition in another ERISA case, Geddes v. United Staffing Alliance Employee Medical Plan (06-1458), involving  standard for judging denials of medical benefits by plan administrators, pending the Court’s ruling in MetLife v. Glenn (06-923). To read the government’s brief, click here.