Nagy v. Group Long Term Disability Plan For Employees of Oracle America, Inc. et al

Filing 79

ORDER REGARDING SELECTION OF AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT. Signed by Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. on 9/14/2015. (ndrS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/14/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DAVE NAGY,

Case No. 14-cv-00038-HSG

Plaintiff,
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v.

ORDER REGARDING SELECTION OF
AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT

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GROUP LONG TERM DISABILITY PLAN
FOR EMPLOYEES OF ORACLE
AMERICA, INC., et al.,

United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendants.
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In this action, Dave Nagy seeks long term disability benefits due to the symptoms of

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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (“CFS”), which he claims renders him totally disabled under the

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ERISA plan administered by the Defendants. Determining whether a claimant is disabled due to

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the symptoms of CFS is a task that has vexed many courts. This is because “[t]here is no blood

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test or other objective laboratory test for chronic fatigue syndrome.” Salomaa v. Honda Long

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Term Disability Plan, 642 F.3d 666, 676 (9th Cir. 2011). Instead, “[t]he standard diagnosis

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technique for [CFS] includes testing, comparing symptoms to a detailed Centers for Disease

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Control list of symptoms, excluding other possible disorders, and reviewing thoroughly the

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patient’s medical history.” Id. While there is no dispute that Nagy has been diagnosed with CFS,

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the administrative record in this case contains little to no expert opinion on whether the severity of

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Nagy’s CFS-related symptoms render him unable to work.

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Accordingly, pursuant to the authority recognized by the Ninth Circuit in Muniz v. Amec

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Construction Management, Inc., 623 F.3d 1290, 1294 (9th Cir. 2010), the Court finds that the

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retention of an independent expert to evaluate Nagy’s functional capacity is warranted. The

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parties are directed to meet and confer regarding the potential experts and file a stipulation

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agreeing to an expert by no later than 21 days from the date of this order. If no agreement can be

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reached, the parties must each file a brief of no more than five pages by the same deadline. Briefs

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must propose an expert for the court to consider, disclose why the parties could not agree on a

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single expert, and explain why the party’s proposed expert should be selected.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: 9/14/2015

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________________________
HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR.
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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