The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied First Unum Life Insurance Co.’s request to reconsider a decision in which it found the company arbitrarily denied long-term disability benefits to a tax attorney with colon cancer. First Unum, a unit of Unum Group (NYSE: UNM), filed the petition for rehearing with the New York-based federal appeals court in January, saying that the court "misapprehended key facts and law" (BestWire, Jan. 9, 2009).
Attempts to speak with Unum Group to see if First Unum plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court were not immediately successful. According to the December 2008 decision, written by Circuit Judge John M. Walker Jr. for a three-judge panel, First Unum operated under a conflict of interest because it was both the claims administrator and payor of benefits.