182784P.pdf   03/20/2020  Ivan Mitchell  v.  Blue Cross Blue Shield of ND
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  18-2784
                          and No:  18-2890
   U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota - Fargo   
   [PUBLISHED] [Kelly, Author, with Colloton and Beam, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - ERISA. The wrongful denial of plan benefits breaches the 
   parties' contract and deprives the participant of the benefit of their 
   bargain; this constitutes an injury to the participant even if the 
   benefits have been assigned to a third party, such as the service 
   provider; as a result, plaintiffs satisfy the injury-in-fact component of 
   standing; they also have statutory standing to bring an action to recover 
   benefits due under the terms of the plan; the plan gives Blue Cross broad 
   discretion to determine the "Allowed Charge" for air-ambulance services 
   and Blue Cross has adopted a consistent interpretation, tied to an 
   external benchmark, which is compatible with both the plan's language and 
   its purpose, and the court cannot say Blue Cross has abused its 
   discretion; Blue Cross's interpretation of the "medical-supply fee" 
   language was not an abuse of its discretion, and the district court erred 
   in granting plaintiff's motion for summary judgment on this claim.