Joshua Bachrach (Partner-Philadelphia, PA) obtained summary judgment in favor of a claim administrator client in what the district court described as a “long-running dispute over disability coverage” under ERISA. The claims administrator concluded that the claimant was not totally disabled from any occupation after 24 months and discontinued benefits. After the ERISA lawsuit was filed, the court remanded the claim to our client regarding the applicability of a special conditions limitation rider. The plaintiff opposed the remand in multiple filings, arguing that the court should only consider whether she was disabled from any occupation because the rider was not initially raised. The court rejected the plaintiff’s argument and, after the claim was again denied based on the rider, it entered judgement in favor of our client. The court held that the rider applied to the claim “because Defendant cannot be required to provide benefits that are plainly excluded from the Policy’s coverage.” In response to the plaintiff’s equitable argument, the court responded that she produced no evidence that she was unaware of the rider at the time she applied for benefits. Also, “although the rider’s bar on long-term benefits has caused the plaintiff frustration and prolonged litigation, the defendant cannot be required to provide benefits that the plaintiff was never entitled to in the first place.”