U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Liu v. Kaiser Permanente Employees Pension Plan for the Permanente Medical Group, Inc.
August 31, 2026
Summary
The panel reversed the dismissal of Liu’s ERISA claim seeking her deceased sister’s pension benefits. It held that the doctrine of substantial compliance may apply to benefit elections under ERISA and that the complaint plausibly alleged substantial compliance under California law. The panel remanded for further proceedings.