Anderson v. Intermountain Power Service Corp., 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 25629 (10^th Cir. October 14, 1999)- Before TACHA, HOLLOWAY, and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges. Evan and Merrily Anderson filed suit against Intermountain Power Service Corporation (IPSC),  after Mr. Anderson’s coverage was cancelled. In 1989, Mr. Anderson became totally disabled and left his job. Pursuant to IPSC’s Long Term Disability Plan, he began to receive disability benefits. IPSC had reserved the right to amend or terminate its benefit plans at any time. In 1990, Mr. Anderson received notice that he was required to pay regular premiums to maintain his health insurance. His coverage was later cancelled for failure to pay.  The Andersons’ lawsuit claimed violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Utah Antidiscrimination Act, and ERISA. The district court granted IPSC’s motion for summary judgment on all claims.

The Andersons appealed the denial of their ERISA claim, and this court affirmed, finding none of appellant’s arguments to be with merit. This court found that: 1) the President of IPSC did have authority to amend the benefits package because ISPC had reserved the right to amend or terminate its benefit plans at any time; 2) ISPC did not breach fiduciary duties when it canceled Anderson’s insurance for late payment; 3) ISPC was under no obligation to accept partial payments; 4) alleged oral promises to Mr. Anderson that he would never lose benefits, even if true, were irrelevant because ERISA requires all modifications to an employee benefit plan to be written and to conform to formal amendment procedures; 5) because ERISA provides no substantive entitlement to employer-provided health benefits, the Andersons cannot make out a claim by arguing that ISPC conspired to amended its plan so as to deprive them of health benefits; and 6) ISPC’s acceptance of partial payments did not waive its right to later cancel for failure to pay because there was no "modification" under ERISA of the benefit plan.