Opinion
Civil Action No. 00-cv-01079-JLK.
September 30, 2005
ORDER
The continued pendency of the motions for summary judgment in this ERISA plan termination dispute having recently come to my attention, and being fully apprised of the grounds asserted by both parties in support of their respective positions, I am convinced the motions must be denied. The question of whether John Alden Life Insurance Company complied with applicable federal and state laws concerning participation rules in the small group health insurance market when it terminated Plaintiffs' plan involves a not uncomplicated question of whether Wyoming or Colorado Insurance Rules apply under a set of factual circumstances clearly in dispute. Accordingly,
The cross-motions for summary judgment are DENIED. Because the claims in this case are brought under ERISA, no right to jury trial attaches and the request for jury trial is DENIED. Counsel for Defendant is ordered to CONFER with Plaintiff, who appears to be unrepresented at this stage of the proceedings, and submit a Joint Status Report on or before October 14, 2005, setting forth the parties' respective positions on how to proceed from here. I deeply regret the delay in this case, which was the result of an internal oversight on my part, induced to some extent by prolonged illness, for which neither party nor their respective counsel bears any responsibility.