Circumnavigating the Serbonian Bog: The Use of ERISA Special Masters to Expedite Employee Benefit Cases1

This article addresses the discomfort with which federal judges decide cases under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In the first part of the article, the author examines the reasons why judges don't like to decide ERISA cases. In the second part of the article, she addresses the problems of ERISA and discusses whether these problems can be solved by the courts. In the final section, she proposes a solution: the creation of a National ERISA Center that would oversee a court-annexed ERISA Special Masters program. Currently, ERISA is not meeting its mandate to provide "ready access to the federal courts." Instead of resorting to ancient mythological references, it is proposed that a National ERISA Center be established where ERISA Special Masters can assist the courts on their heroic journeys through the ERISA decision-making process.