( March 8, 2023, 10:08 AM EST) -- SANTA ANA, Calif. — Following a one-day bench trial in a disability benefits dispute, a California federal judge determined that claims for short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) benefits cannot proceed because the disability insurer was not responsible for paying STD benefit claims under the employer’s self-insured plan and because the disability claimant failed to exhaust all administrative remedies in connection with the LTD benefits claim....