Jenny H. Wang

Jenny H. Wang represents insurers and employers and other national corporations in ERISA-governed litigation.  Over the course of 20+ years, Ms. Wang has litigated hundreds of actions involving employee benefit plans.  Ms. Wang has successfully defended ERISA plan fiduciaries against claims for breach of fiduciary duty, equitable relief and the payment of benefits under employer-sponsored benefit plans.  In addition to ERISA litigation, Ms. Wang has successfully defended insurers in first-party actions involving common law claims for breach of contract, bad faith, negligence and fraud.  She has prosecuted declaratory relief actions involving coverage disputes and rescission of insurance policies.  Ms. Wang has represented institutional clients against claims of unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duties.  Ms. Wang has provided opinions in complex insurance coverage matters.  Ms. Wang has counseled corporate clients in employer-employee disputes.

Ms. Wang represents her clients in state, federal and appellate courts. She has obtained favorable results for her clients in every phase of litigation, including at the pleading stage, by way of motions for summary judgment, early mediation, trial and appeal.  She has:

• Prevailed on ERISA bench trials defeating disputed claims for life insurance and long-term disability benefits.
• Prevailed after oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals involving appeals of judgments in ERISA-governed benefits litigation.
• Successfully pursued ERISA-preemption of state law claims asserted against insurers, resulting in the elimination of claims for extra-contractual damages.
• Blocked attempts by claimants to litigate ERISA-governed benefits claims without having exhausted their administrative remedies.
• Obtained orders precluding attempts by ERISA claimants to conduct discovery outside of the administrative record.
• Successfully tried cases to verdict in state and federal courts on breach of contract and tort claims, including obtaining a money judgment in favor of her client insurer following a jury trial on its insurance fraud claim and the insured’s counterclaims for breach of contract and bad faith.
• Obtained judgments in favor of her clients in cases involving interpretation of what constitutes “sickness” versus “accidental bodily injury” within the meaning of insurance policies that provide different levels of benefits for claims due to either sickness or injury.
• Successfully moved to eliminate claims against her clients for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and punitive damages.
• Obtained favorable rulings for her clients in cases involving the interpretation of “appropriate care” as set forth in disability policies that condition benefits on the receipt of appropriate care.