Provision of brochure describing plan defeated claim

The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of an employer in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case where, oddly enough, even the plaintiff appeared to admit that his benefits claims were baseless. Roberto Lugo-Velazquez was employed by Steifel Laboratories in Puerto Rico until January 2003, when his employment was terminated in connection with a downsizing. The 1st Circuit addressed Lugo- Velazquez's ERISA claim for disability benefits and opened by noting that Lugo-Velazquez, with commendable candor, acknowledged that he produced no evidence establishing that he satisfied the eligibility criteria and further conceded that he had never actually applied for disability benefits.