ERISA LITIGATION: Follow the Money! Traceability Key to Recovering Overpayments, Says Sixth Circuit

In Zirbel v. Ford Motor Co., [980 F.3d 520 (6th Cir. 2020)] the Sixth Circuit upheld a lower court's judgment ordering a beneficiary to repay a retirement benefit that was roughly three times the amount to which she was entitled. [Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, 577 U.S. 136 (2016)] On one hand, a wrongful possessor may have spent funds on which a lien is attached on "traceable items" such as real estate or an investment fund. [...]this case serves as a reminder for practitioners and plan administrators to ensure that all benefit payments are double checked before being paid to participants or beneficiaries. *