Jane M. Mattox v. Life Insurance Company of North

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED
________________________ U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-14923 SEPT 15, 2010
________________________ JOHN LEY
CLERK
D. C. Docket No. 06-02090-CV-TCB-1
JANE M. MATTOX,
Plaintiff-Counter-
Defendant-Appellant-
Cross Appellee,
versus
LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH
AMERICA,
a subsidiary of the CIGNA Corporation
CIGNA),
Defendant-Counter-
Claimant-Appellee-
Cross Appellant.
AMVESCAP GROUP LONG TERM
DISABILITY PLAN, et al.,
Defendant.
________________________
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
_________________________
(September 15, 2010)
Before HULL, MARTIN and FAY, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
After a thorough review of the record and having the benefit of oral
argument, we agree with the District Court that the Life Insurance Company of
North America was not arbitrary and capricious in denying long term disability
benefits to Jane Mattox. We therefore AFFIRM the grant of summary judgment in
favor of LINA on that issue.
The District Court also denied relief to LINA on its claim for reimbursement
of the amount it overpaid Mattox as a result of the award of a lump sum payment
she received as Social Security disability benefits. In doing so, the District Court
weighed the equities favoring each party, and found the scale to tip in favor of
Mattox. While LINA disagrees with the decision of the District Court, it does
agree that its cause of action on this claim is equitable in nature. In matters of
equity, the purview of the district court is broad, and ours is correspondingly
narrow. Lemon v. Kurtzman, 411 U.S. 192, 200, 93 S. Ct. 1463, 1469 (1973). We
therefore also AFFIRM the District Court’s denial of relief to LINA on its
counterclaim for reimbursement.
2