On December 16, 2009, a district court in Illinois ruled that Unum was not “downright unreasonable” in terminating an HIV claimant’s long-term disability benefits, despite reported fatigue, vision problems and diarrhea. The Court found that the Plaintiff was not disabled from being a product technician, which required great visual acuity for reading small parts, despite reported increased visual blurring and a recommendation by Plaintiff’s physician to see an ophthalmologist. The Plaintiff’s job also involved frequent walking, lifting and math. The Court acknowledged that the conclusion of Unum’s Dr. Beecher that the Plaintiff could perform his regular occupation conflicted with that of his treating physician, but that reaching such decision “amid…conflicting medical evidence” should be left to the plan under the arbitrary and capricious standard of review. The Court found reasonable Unum’s conclusion that HIV was not causing the claimant’s fatigue since the HIV treatment was successful. The Court cited the Seventh Circuit’s prior note that, “the prognosis for individuals with HIV has improved since HIV was first reported in the United States in the early 1980s.” The Court also shot down the Plaintiff’s argument that Unum wrongfully dismissed his self-reported complaints by making a distinction between amount of fatigue, which it noted as subjective, and how much fatigue limits one’s functional capacity, which it stated could be objectively measured. Wallace v. Select Group Insurance Trust
