Dufour v. Blue Cross

Full title: LAURA DUFOUR v. BLUE CROSS, et al

Court: United States District Court, W.D. Louisiana, Alexandria Division

Date published: Feb 28, 2008

CIVIL ACTION NO. 07-0725 (W.D. La. Feb. 28, 2008)

Opinion

CIVIL ACTION NO. 07-0725.

February 28, 2008

Report and Recommendation

JAMES KIRK, Magistrate Judge

This matter was referred to the undersigned for Report and Recommendation. This is a suit by an employee's dependent for health insurance benefits governed by ERISA. Before the court is an unopposed motion for summary judgment, doc. 10, by defendant, Louisiana Health Service Indemnity Company, d/b/a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (Blue Cross). In its motion, Blue Cross asserts that it is not the insurer of the Plan issued to plaintiff's mother's employer, LHC, nor is it the administrator of the Plan. Rather, it claims, the insurer is Highmark, Inc. and its sole involvement is that its computer system is utilized to file claims made against the Plan.

Plaintiff has not opposed the motion, nor has it provided any information to the court to assist the court in resolving the issue. Therefore, the only information the court has is that mover, Blue Cross, has no involvement in the denial of plaintiff's claims and no claim lies against it.

Therefore, IT IS RECOMMENDED that the motion for summary judgment, doc. 10, be GRANTED and that the claims against Blue Cross be dismissed, without prejudice.

OBJECTIONS

Under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C) and Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b), the parties have five (5) business days from service of this Report and Recommendation to file specific, written objections with the Clerk of Court. A party may respond to another party's objections within five (5) days after being served with a copy thereof. A courtesy copy of any objection or response or request for extension of time shall be furnished to the District Judge at the time of filing. Timely objections will be considered by the District Judge before he makes his final ruling.

FAILURE TO FILE WRITTEN OBJECTIONS TO THE PROPOSED FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT WITHIN FIVE (5) BUSINESS DAYS FROM THE DATE OF ITS SERVICE SHALL BAR AN AGGRIEVED PARTY, EXCEPT UPON GROUNDS OF PLAIN ERROR, FROM ATTACKING ON APPEAL THE UN-OBJECTED-TO PROPOSED FACTUAL FINDINGS AND LEGAL CONCLUSIONS ACCEPTED BY THE DISTRICT JUDGE.