Failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Ravencraft v. UNUM Life Insurance Company of America.
Ravencraft v. UNUM Life Insurance Company of America, 212 F.3d 341 (6th Cir. 2000): Although ERISA does not explicitly require it, the Sixth Circuit and most of the others require that a participant pursue all plan remedies before bringing suit. An action against a plan or plan fiduciary will be dismissed if the participant fails to exhaust the administrative remedies available to it under the plan unless he or she can show that pursuing those remedies would be futile, such as where the available remedies are inadequate or unfair. If a participant's case is dismissed solely because of the failure to follow the procedural steps for review under the plan, the dismissal should be without prejudice so that the participant can file suit again, if necessary, after he or she goes back to pursue the remedies available under the plan.