Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc. v. McVeigh

Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc. v. McVeigh, 547 U.S. 677 (2006), is a United States Supreme Court case.

Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc. v. McVeigh
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 25, 2006 Decided June 15, 2006
Full case name	Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc. dba Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield v. McVeigh as administratrix of the Estate of McVeigh
Docket no.	05-200
Citations	547 U.S. 677 (more) 126 S. Ct. 2121; 165 L. Ed. 2d 131
Case history
Prior	396 F.3d 136 (2d Cir. 2005), affirmed.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Antonin Scalia Anthony Kennedy · David Souter Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Case opinions
Majority	Ginsburg, joined by Roberts, Stevens, Scalia, Thomas
Dissent	Breyer, joined by Kennedy, Souter, Alito

Empire Healthchoice Assurance, Inc. was a health insurance company that sued the estate of a deceased federal employee who received $157,000 in insurance benefits as the result of an injury. The wife of this federal employee had won $3.2 million in a separate lawsuit from those who she claimed had caused her husband's injuries. Empire Healthchoice Assurance sued her for reimbursement of the benefits paid to him on the grounds that a provision in the federal insurance plan required paid benefits to be reimbursed when the beneficiary is compensated for an injury by a third party. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the health insurance company. The Supreme Court, in an opinion by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, affirmed the Court of Appeals' ruling in a 5-4 opinion. Justices Breyer, Kennedy, Souter, and Alito dissented.

External links

• Text of Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc. v. McVeigh, 547 U.S. 677 (2006) is available from: Cornell  CourtListener  Findlaw  Google Scholar  Oyez (oral argument audio)