Exhaustion of Claims Procedures and Right to Bring Legal Claim. No action at law or equity shall be brought more than one year after the Administrator’s affirmation of a denial of a claim, or, if earlier, more than four years after the facts or events giving rising to the claimant’s allegation(s) or claim(s) first occurred.

Section # Exhaustion of Claims Procedure. If a Claimant fails to file a request for review in accordance with the procedures described above, he or she will lose the right to have a claim reviewed or to bring an action to court and the denial of the claim will be final. A Claimant will also lose the right to bring an action to court if more than one hundred eighty (180) days have elapsed since the Plan Administrator rendered a final determination on review. Any such action may be filed only in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The exhaustion of these claims procedures is mandatory for resolving every claim and dispute arising under the Plan. As to such claims and disputes:

Exhaustion of administrative remedies. The exhaustion of the claims procedures is mandatory for resolving every claim and dispute arising under this Plan. As to such claims and disputes: # no claimant shall be permitted to commence any legal act ion to recover Plan benefits or to enforce or clarify rights under the Plan under Act §502 or §510 or under any other provision of law, whether or not statutory, until the claims procedures set forth in [[Subsections (a) and (b)])]])] above have been exhausted in their entirety; and # in any such legal action all explicit and all implicit determinations by the Administrator (including, but not limited to, determinations as to whether the claim, or a request for a review of a denied claim, was timely filed) shall be afforded the maximum deference permitted by law.

Claims Procedures. The applicable employees of the Parties shall escalate any Dispute to the executives of the Parties for resolution. Upon receipt of any such escalated matter, the executives of the Parties shall discuss and attempt to resolve the matter within 15 business days immediately following the escalation. If by the end of the fifteenth business day, the matter has not been resolved to the satisfaction of both Parties, then the party that initiated the claim shall provide written notification to the other party in accordance with [Section 8(c)] of this Agreement, in the form of a claim identifying the issue or amount disputed and including a detailed reason for the claim. The party against whom the claim is made shall respond in writing to the claim within 15 business days from the date of receipt of the claim document. The party filing the claim shall have an additional 15 business days after the receipt of the response to either accept any resolution offered by the other party or request implementation of the procedures set forth in [Section 8(c)] (the “Escalation Procedures”). Following a Party’s waiver of, or failure to respond within, the time periods set forth in this [Section 8(b)], the other Party, may submit such Dispute to arbitration in the manner described in this [Section 8].

Claims Procedures. As required under [[Section 2560.503-1(b)(2)])]])] of the Department of Labor Regulations, the claims procedures are set forth in the Plan’s Summary Plan Description, which claims procedures are incorporated by reference into the Plan. A Participant or a beneficiary, or the authorized representative of either (the “claimant”), may not bring an action under ERISA [Section 502(a)] or otherwise with respect to his or her claim until he or she has exhausted the claims procedures. Any such action must be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within 12 months after the date on which the claimant receives the Committee’s written denial of the claimant’s claim on appeal or, if earlier, 12 months after the date of the alleged facts or conduct giving rise to the claim (including, without limitation, the date the claimant alleges he or she became entitled to Plan benefits requested in the suit or legal action), or it shall be forever barred. Any further review, judicial or otherwise, of the Committee’s decision on the claimant’s claim shall be limited to whether, in the particular instance, the Committee abused its discretion. In no event shall such further review, judicial or otherwise, be on a de novo basis, as the Committee has discretionary authority to determine eligibility and benefits and to construe and interpret the terms of the Plan.

A Participant or his or her beneficiary (if applicable) may file a written claim with the Committee with respect to his or her rights to receive a benefit from the Plan. ​ will be informed of the decision of the Committee with respect to the claim within 90 days after it is filed. Under special circumstances, the Committee may require an additional period of not more than 90 days to review a claim. If this occurs, ​ will be notified in writing as to the length of the extension, the reason for the extension, and any other information needed in order to process the claim. If a Participant is not notified within the 90-day (or 180-day, if so extended) period, he or she may consider the claim to be denied.

an explanation of the Plan’s review procedures and the time limits applicable to such procedures, including a statement of the applicant’s right to bring a civil action under [section 502(a)] of ERISA following a denial on review of the claim, as described in [Section 9(d)] below.

Include a statement of the Claimant’s right to pursuant any voluntary appeal procedures available under the Plan and bring a civil action in state or federal court under Section 502(a) of the Act following the adverse determination on review, and any applicable contractual limitations period that applies to the Claimant’s right to bring such an action, including the calendar date on which the contractual limitations period expires for the claim.

Finality of Determinations; Exhaustion of Remedies. To the extent permitted by law, decisions reached under the claims procedures set forth in this Section shall be final and binding on all parties. No legal action for benefits under the Plan shall be brought unless and until the claimant has exhausted his remedies under this Section. In any such legal action, the claimant may only present evidence and theories which the claimant presented during the claims procedure. Any claims which the claimant does not in good faith pursue through the review stage of the procedure shall be treated as having been irrevocably waived. Judicial review of a claimant's denied claim shall be limited to a determination of whether the denial was an abuse of discretion based on the evidence and theories the claimant presented during the claims procedure. Any suit or legal action initiated by a claimant under the Plan must be brought by the claimant no later than one year following a final decision on the claim for benefits. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event may a claimant initiate suit or legal action more than two years after the facts giving rise to the action occurred. The foregoing limitations on suits or legal actions for benefits will apply in any forum where a claimant initiates such suit or legal action.