Opinion ID: 585282
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Scope of District Court's Review

Text: 16 Although the district court concluded that Sandoval was psychologically disabled at the time Jacobs terminated his benefits, the court also found that the Review Committee was unaware of this disability because Sandoval failed to bring it to the Review Committee's attention. In determining whether the plan administrator's decision was arbitrary and capricious, the district court generally may consider only the arguments and evidence before the administrator at the time it made that decision. See Perry v. Simplicity Engineering, 900 F.2d 963, 967 (6th Cir.1990); Voliva v. Seafarers Pension Plan, 858 F.2d 195, 196 (4th Cir.1988) ([T]he court must consider only the record before the plan administrator at the time it reached its decision. [Courts should not consider or rely] upon evidence not part of the administrative record. [Nor should courts] consider arguments that do not appear in the administrative record.) (citations omitted); Danti v. Lewis, 312 F.2d 345, 349-50 (D.C.Cir.1962) (court should consider only evidence and arguments before trustee). As the Sixth Circuit stated in Perry: 17 A primary goal of ERISA was to provide a method for workers and beneficiaries to resolve disputes over benefits inexpensively and expeditiously. Permitting or requiring district courts to consider evidence from both parties that was not presented to the plan administrator would seriously impair the achievement of that goal. If district courts heard evidence not presented to plan administrators, employees and their beneficiaries would receive less protection than Congress intended. 18 Perry, 900 F.2d at 967 (citation omitted). 19 The Review Committee had before it recent medical reports from Doctors Moon and Walsky, as well as Sandoval's complete medical file, which included some indications from past examinations that Sandoval was not disabled. The medical reports discussed only his physical impairments; the only references to psychological evaluations occurred in the context of occupational therapy. The reports do not suggest that Sandoval might be disabled due to psychological impairments, nor did Sandoval's attorney, when he requested review of the initial decision to terminate benefits, suggest or make a claim for psychological disability. In accordance with ERISA, Sandoval was invited to submit any additional relevant evidence to the Review Committee for purposes of its review, yet Sandoval's attorney failed to submit any new evidence. 20 An administrator's decision is not arbitrary or capricious for failing to take into account evidence not before it. Cf. LeFebre v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 747 F.2d 197, 208 (4th Cir.1984) (trustees under no duty to seek out evidence contradicting evidence before them). The evidence of psychological disability developed long after the review process does not render Jacobs' decision arbitrary or capricious. 21 Nonetheless, Sandoval argues that the district court's subsequent finding that he was psychologically disabled requires a remand to the plan administrator for a new determination of disability. In support of this argument, Sandoval cites Wardle v. Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund, 627 F.2d 820 (7th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1112, 101 S.Ct. 922, 66 L.Ed.2d 841 (1981). In Wardle, the Seventh Circuit stated: 22 A federal court is to focus on the evidence before the trustees at the time of their final decision and is not to hold a de novo factual hearing on the question of the applicant's eligibility. As a general matter a court should not resolve the eligibility question on the basis of evidence never presented to a pension fund's trustees but should remand to the trustees for a new determination. 23 Id. at 824 (citations omitted). Although we agree with the Seventh Circuit's first sentence, we respectfully disagree with the second. 5 If a plan participant fails to bring evidence to the attention of the administrator, the participant cannot complain of the administrator's failure to consider this evidence. Sandoval is not entitled to a second chance to prove his disability. The district court's responsibility lay in determining whether the administrator's actions were arbitrary or capricious, not in determining whether Sandoval was, in the district court's view, entitled to disability benefits. In effect, a curtain falls when the fiduciary completes its review, and for purposes of determining if substantial evidence supported the decision, the district court must evaluate the record as it was at the time of the decision. See Perry, 900 F.2d at 967; Voliva, 858 F.2d at 196. The district court's subsequent finding based upon later-developed evidence that Sandoval was psychologically disabled was irrelevant to this inquiry and therefore exceeded the scope of the court's review. 24