Dorsey v. Aetna Life Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 26 March 2013 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 2:12cv90 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia |
| Parties | WILLIE DORSEY, Plaintiff, v. AETNA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al., Defendants. |
Willie Dorsey, a former executive with Cox Enterprises, Inc. ("Cox"), has brought this suit on February 22, 2012, against Cox and Aetna Life Insurance Company ("Aetna") based on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), seeking damages in multiple millions of dollars for long term disability benefits as well as failure to timely provide him with copies, after a request, of the Cox Executive Supplemental Plan ("CESP").
This matter is before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Defendant Cox has moved for summary judgment with respect to all claims asserted against it by the plaintiff. Defendant Aetna has likewise moved for summary judgment with respect to all claims asserted against it by the plaintiff. The plaintiff has moved for summary judgment with respect to his claims against Aetna only. For the reasons set forth herein, the defendants' respective motions for summary judgment are GRANTED and the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is DENIED.
The plaintiff, Dorsey, seeks an award of benefits under Cox's long-term disability program, asserting that Aetna, a third-party administrator, improperly denied the plaintiff's claim for long-term disability benefits. Specifically, the plaintiff seeks an award of long term disabilitybenefits based on his alleged inability to perform his own occupation due to anxiety and depression, a declaration that he was entitled to long term disability benefits at the time of his application for benefits, which would trigger his eligibility for various other welfare plan benefits and which would affect calculation of service-year credits for retirement benefits under the Cox Pension Plan and the CESP, and an order directing Aetna and Cox to review his continuing eligibility for long term disability benefits. Second, the plaintiff seeks to recover statutory civil penalties for Cox's alleged failure to timely disclose a complete copy upon request of the Cox Executive Supplemental Plan. Third, the plaintiff seeks equitable relief with respect to a previously unpleaded equitable estoppel claim. The plaintiff has moved for summary judgment with respect to his claims for benefits and for declaratory judgment as against Aetna. The defendants have separately moved for summary judgment as to all claims against them.
In 1989, Willie Dorsey, the plaintiff, joined Trader Publications, Inc., a Cox subsidiary, to serve as controller of the company. In April 1991, Cox merged Trader Publications with Landmark Target Media, a division of Landmark Communications, Inc. ("Landmark"), and Dorsey was named controller of the new joint venture, entitled Trader Publishing Company. Cox and Landmark were two of the largest privately held media companies in the United States, each with numerous subsidiaries employing thousands in cable, TV, radio, newspapers, and private periodicals of all types throughout the United States. Cox has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and Landmark had its headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.
Dorsey relocated from Trader Publications in Clearwater, Florida, to Norfolk in 1991 to take on this new role at Trader Publishing Company, and he was later promoted to the position of Vice President and Controller of Trader Publishing Company. Dorsey's duties there includedoverseeing all financial aspects of the company, including preparation of financial statements, annual budgets, reporting to Cox, and reporting income taxes and other related taxes; he was also responsible for all accounting systems used in Norfolk, and for other projects as assigned.
In September 2006, Cox and Landmark dissolved the joint venture, splitting the assets between them, including various classified advertising titles focused on boats, automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, and other advertising features. Over its fifteen year history, Trader Publishing Company had grown into one of the largest companies headquartered in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, earning more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue for print and online classified advertising services, with more than 10,000 employees—including 1,000 in Norfolk and Virginia Beach—and more than 300 offices nationwide. At the time of the split, Trader Publishing Company was headquartered in a seven-story office building it owned in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, and it also owned a 20-story, 500,000 square foot skyscraper under construction nearby, the ownership of which was taken by Dominion Enterprises ("Dominion"), the Landmark-owned successor as a result of the split of Trader Publishing Company. Following the split, Cox, through a company called Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart ("CATAM"), took ownership of more than 300 of Trader's automotive classified advertising publications, while Landmark, through Dominion, took ownership of nearly 500 publications and websites serving the real estate, apartment, employment, and recreational classified advertising markets.
As part of this transaction, Dorsey was rehired by Cox and appointed Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") of CATAM, the Cox-owned successor to Trader Publishing Company, which dealt with printed automotive classified advertising publications. Dorsey was the top executive of CATAM in the company headquarters, which was in Norfolk, Virginia. The controller of the company, its accounting systems manager, and the office manager, as well as eighty indirectsubordinates, reported to Dorsey in Norfolk. Dorsey himself reported only to Joe George, who held the title of President of CATAM. However, George was also head of several other Cox subsidiaries and was located in Atlanta, Georgia, Cox's headquarters, while CATAM was located in Norfolk, Virginia.
The plaintiff claims that Aetna, the claim administrator, incorrectly denied the plaintiff's claim for long term disability benefits. The Court will therefore begin with the history of the plaintiff's condition, while trying to present this matter in a chronological order with respect to what happened and when.
After the split of publications between Cox and Landmark, CATAM began to suffer from the changing landscape of used automobile marketing as advertising moved from paid placement in paper publications to free or inexpensive online ads on AutoTrader.com, Craigslist and other websites. In February 2008, CATAM laid off approximately sixty employees in Norfolk. Sometime during the first half of 2008, George and Dorsey began discussing the lessening in size and relocation of CATAM operations from Norfolk to Atlanta.
On June 17, 2008, as the market was declining, Dorsey suffered what he alleges to have been an anxiety attack while at work. At the time, he advised others at work that he thought he was having a reaction to paint fumes present at the office. Dorsey subsequently left work and went to see his primary care physician, Dr. Zhang. A.R.1 417-18.
On June 17, 2008, Dorsey went to Dr. Zhang with complaints of increased stress levelsand fatigue. A.R. 417. He denied having feelings of hopelessness or helplessness, and he denied any suicidal ideation. Id. Dr. Zhang diagnosed Dorsey with fatigue, possibly related to poor sleep or depression, and with anxiety. Id. For the anxiety, Dr. Zhang prescribed Paxil (10mg daily) and Lorazepam. Id. Dr. Zhang advised Dorsey to return for a follow-up appointment in a week. Id.
On June 18, in relation to George having indicated that CATAM would move to Atlanta, Dorsey spoke to George about his health and to tell him that he wanted to remain in Norfolk rather than move to Atlanta. They conversed regarding Dorsey's continued employment with Cox, in light of the decision to eliminate his position in Norfolk. Dorsey expressed his interest in moving to a "lesser position within Cox." Dorsey Dep. Ex. 1, Sept. 26, 2012, ECF No. 46. George promised to look for a role in which Dorsey could continue to operate accounting operations in Norfolk, while Dorsey's subordinate, Scott Miller, moved to Atlanta to set up accounting operations there, in place of Dorsey, since Dorsey wanted to remain in Norfolk. If George was unable to find a new role for Dorsey in Norfolk that fit, he told Dorsey that Cox would provide him with a "stay bonus" and severance package at the end of the summer in 2009, "[u]nless business really tanks which I hope doesn't happen." Id.
On June 25, 2008, Dorsey wrote to George to request authorization to take more than the usual amount of vacation time over the summer to help him recuperate from stress he had suffered over the previous two to three years of intense activity at CATAM and Trader Publishing Company. On June 26, 2008, George approved Dorsey's request for three weeks of vacation in July and August, plus a few extra days around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
On July 28, 2008, forty-one days after his initial visit, Dorsey went to his primary carephysician for a follow-up visit, this time seeing Dr. Zhang's partner, Dr. Balderston. A.R. 415-16. Dorsey reported to Dr. Balderson that he had recently returned from a two-week vacation. A.R. 415. He also reported having had another panic attack while on his medication. Id. Dorsey stated that he was worried about his job. Id. Dr. Balderston instructed Dorsey to continue on his medication, increasing his Paxil dosage to 20mg daily. Id. She also advised Dorsey to "work on stress reduction." Id.
On August 4, 2008, shortly after Dorsey returned from vacation, he and George had another conversation, in which Dorsey expressed that, upon further reflection, he thought his best option would be to terminate with severance when his position was eliminated, take two to three months...
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