The insurance company wanted to be paid in full out of the $500,000. It could have ended there. But instead, Brenda and Mr. Link still refused to pay back the plan, and the plan sued.
In the end, the health insurer got all of its money back, plus nearly $150,000 in costs and attorney’s fees for having to sue.
The lesson: Please don’t try to cheat an ERISA plan.
ERISA is a complex and difficult law that is often unfavorable toward employees. That's a good reason to hire an attorney with experience in ERISA. It is not a good reason to try to cheat your insurance company. That will amost certainly end badly, just as it did for Brenda Elem and her attorney.
* The case is Airtran Airways v. Brenda Elem, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 18187 (11th Cir. Sept. 23, 2014). You can read it here.