SOMMER v. UNUM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA,  1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 5388 (9th Cir. Mar 8, 1999) (unpublished)-Sommer's claims against Paul Revere are barred by the three-year statute of limitations for filing an ERISA claim for wrongful denial of benefits.  Nikaido v. Centennial Life Ins. Co., 42 F.3d 557, 559 (9th Cir. 1994). Sommer's argument that he accrued multiple causes of action under the "rolling" statute of limitations rule of Nikaido is precluded by our interpretation of Nikaido in Williams v. UNUM Life Ins. Co., 113 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 1997). Under Williams, Sommer's ERISA claim accrued in 1990 when UNUM notified him that his claim was actually denied. Sommer did not seek judicial relief against Paul Revere until 1996, long after the statute of limitations had expired.

Sommer's 1996 claim against Paul Revere is also time-barred because it is essentially  the same as the 1990 claim. Under California law, the resubmission of a time-barred claim after the lapse of the limitations period does not revive an insured's right to sue.  Love v. Fire Ins. Exchange, 221 Cal. App. 3d 1136, 1151, 271 Cal. Rptr. 246 (1990).

Court found that UNUM's preexisting condition limitation barred Plaintiff's claims for disability benefits.