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In 2009, I met a woman at the Community Kitchen who was homeless and living with her child in a shelter. She was a former prostitute and HIV positive. She had been receiving Social Security Disability benefits but her benefits had been cut off once the Administration learned there was an outstand... Read On
In 2004, I was volunteering for two organizations that provide disadvantaged individuals access to legal services, Legal Aid of East Tennessee (legal services for the poor) and Chattanooga Cares (services to those who are HIV positive). I learned about the work of a third organization, The Chatta... Read On
Typically the federal court's review in ERISA cases is limited to the “administrative record.” However, in the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee, if a defendant had an inherent conflict of interest that impacted the benefit decision, then a plaintiff is entitled to some degree of discover... Read On
Ms. Norberry hired an attorney who had little or no experience in ERISA disability cases. The attorney filed suit in federal court on December 21, 2007, for short-term and long-term disability benefits. The attorney erred by not exhausting his client's administrative remedies and did not understa... Read On
ERISA cases are very technical and hard for plaintiffs to win. Small advances in the law need to be entrenched as soon as possible before insurers find a court somewhere else to reach a contrary conclusion. In 2008 I was lead counsel in a case involving a critical technical rule: under precedent,... Read On
As an ERISA attorney, I noticed decision makers were taking contradictory positions about the impact on long-term disability (LTD) claims of Social Security Administration findings of disability. The issue is a complicated, multifaceted one. When an ERISA case of mine, Myers v. Prudential, went t... Read On
My client, let's call him “Mr. Jones”, purchased disability insurance in early 2006. Not long after, he experienced a fall and suffered a brain injury. At the hospital, his blood alcohol level measured .205 g/dl: two-and-a-half times the .08 threshold for a DUI. Because Mr. Jones's insurance went... Read On
I have represented 2,000+ claimants at Social Security administrative hearings, in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama, with a very high win rate. In 2008, I became a Certified Specialist in Social Security Disability Law by the National Board of Social Security Disability Advocacy. However, in that ... Read On
In Williams v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 13-CV-241-KKC, 2014 WL 5063660 (E.D. Ky. Oct. 8, 2014), the Plaintiff, Ms. Williams, had been a premature infant who spent 9 ½ weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and was then at home on a ventilator until about 20 months of age. Ms. Williams subsequently... Read On
Seth has always been compelled to excel, whether it meant earning his Eagle Scout as a teenager, participating in theater, debate and varsity football in high school, his Rhodes Scholar candidacy in college, or opening his own law firm. He also perseveres in situations others might shy away from, whether it involves sky-diving, rappelling down a mountain, white-water rafting, participating in marathons and triathlons, writing a novel, or lecturing nationally to large audiences about the vagaries of ERISA.
Seth is committed to serving disabled individuals. He is proud of his work in prominent organizations such as the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Hospice. Seth is past-Chair of both AAJ's & TBA's Disability Law Sections, past-President of the Chattanooga Trial Lawyers Association, a 2-time recipient of the Pro Bono Excellence Award, and a 7 year member of the Board of Directors for Hospice of Chattanooga.
