Attorneys' Fees Not Available Under ERISA for Pre-Litigation Administrative Proceedings

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Vicki Johnson

In Hahnemann University Hospital v. All Shore, Inc., 514 F.3d 300 (3rd. Cir. 2008), the court held that the provision permitting awards of attorneys' fees in an ERISA action, 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(1), restricts a court to awarding attorneys' fees incurred in formal judicial actions only, and not attorneys' fees incurred for the pre-litigation process.

The court's holding is consistent with that of five other circuit courts of appeals:  the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th circuits.

 

 

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Attorneys' Fees Not Available Under ERISA for Pre-Litigation Administrative Proceedings

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Vicki Johnson

In Hahnemann University Hospital v. All Shore, Inc., 514 F.3d 300 (3rd. Cir. 2008), the court held that the provision permitting awards of attorneys' fees in an ERISA action, 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(1), restricts a court to awarding attorneys' fees incurred in formal judicial actions only, and not attorneys' fees incurred for the pre-litigation process.

The court's holding is consistent with that of five other circuit courts of appeals:  the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th circuits.

 

 

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Attorneys' Fees Awarded Against Plaintiff Pension Plan

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Vicki Johnson

In Sullivan v. Randolph, 504 F.3d 665 (7th Cir. 2007), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals entered an award of attorneys' fees, pursuant to ERISA provision 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(1), against a plaintiff multi-employer pension plan in a case seeking contributions to a plan.  The court held that the plan's claim "lacked substantial justification" thus warranting an award of attorneys' fees. 

The court also criticized the 5-factor test for determining the appropriateness and size of an award of attorneys' fees articulated previously by that circuit in Bittner v. Sadoff & Rudoy Industries, 728 F.2d 820 (7th Cir. 1984), as being needlessly complex and having outlived its usefulness.  It seems to me that parties seeking or defending against attorneys' fees should nonetheless argue the relevant factors articulated in that test because they provide a means for evaluating the merits of an award of attorneys' fees.

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