Kulinski v. Medtronic Bio-Medicus, Inc.’s Empirical Analysis
21 F.3d 254 · 1994
Citation profile
50 federal appellate · 18 district · 6 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 117 later decisions — most recently December 2018 · most notably Johnson v. Watts Regulator Co. (1995), Siemon v. AT&T Corp. (1997)
50 federal appellate · 18 district · 6 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 29 U.S.C. § 1002 (§ 3 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) · 29 U.S.C. § 1132 (§ 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)
Relies on Fort Halifax Packing Co. v. Coyne · United Transportation Union v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority · Stutzman v. Board of Education · Grogan v. Garner · Gracey v. Reigle
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 117 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“The pivotal inquiry is whether the plan requires the establishment of a separate, ongoing administrative scheme to administer the plan’s benefits. Simple or mechanical determinations do not necessarily require the establishment of such an administrative scheme; rather, an employer’s need to create an administrative system may arise where the employer, to determine the employees’ eligibility for and level of benefits, must analyze each employee’s particular circumstances in light of the appropriate criteria.”
19 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“requirement of a one-time, lump-sum payment triggered by a single event requires no administrative scheme whatsoever to meet the employer's obligation.”
13 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“An employer's decision to extend benefits does not constitute, in and of itself, the establishment of an ERISA plan.”
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.