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Below is a summary of this past week’s notable ERISA decisions by subject matter and jurisdiction.

Attorneys’ Fees

Ninth Circuit

Hoffman v. Screen Actors Guild-Producers Health Plan, No. 2:10-CV-06913-CJC-E, 2021 WL 3888251 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 23, 2021) (Judge Cormac J. Carney). Plaintiff filed suit in 2010. Two prior fee decisions awarded $185,670 and $246,890 in attorneys’ fees. In the current motion, following a Ninth Circuit decision vitiating several prior rulings from the district court, the reopening of the case, and a settlement, plaintiff sought an additional $69,150 in fees for 92.2 hours of work at a rate of $750 per hour. The court found that $750 per hour was reasonable for an attorney admitted in 1970, who had handled over 200 ERISA cases, and been named a “Southern California Super Lawyer” in the field of ERISA every year since 2006. The court also found time was appropriately expended on prior unsuccessful motions that had advanced arguments subsequently adopted by the Ninth Circuit. It also awarded fees based on time spent on preparing the fee motion and time for a motion that was withdrawn but became the foundation for a Ninth Circuit brief. However, the court denied fees for time spent on prior unsuccessful motions it deemed completely devoid of any legal authority. In the end, the court awarded 60.3 hours, at a rate of $750 per hour, for a total award of $45,225 in additional attorneys’ fees (bringing the total fees awarded in the case to $477,785). Plaintiff has appealed the decision, continuing the more than decade-long saga.Continue Reading Your ERISA Watch – Week of September 8, 2021

Sacerdote v. New York University, No. 18-2707, __ F. 4th __, 2021 WL 3610355 (2d Cir. Aug. 16, 2021) (Before Circuit Judges Newman, Walker and Menashi).
This week’s notable decision is a partial victory for plaintiffs in the latest round of fee cases against universities that allegedly have not been too smart about their pension plan investments. The Second Circuit partially reversed the district court, which had dismissed or ruled in favor of the defendants on all claims.Continue Reading Second Circuit Sends NYU Back to the Drawing Board

Mayer v. Ringler Assocs. Inc., No. 20-1281, __, F.4th __, 2021 WL 3556473 (2d Cir. Aug. 12, 2021) (Before Circuit Judges Walker, Sack, and Menashi).

This week’s notable decision demonstrates the uphill battle ERISA claimants face in litigation with insurers over their employee benefits, particularly where courts apply the highly deferential abuse of discretion standard. Here, because the court concluded that California’s ban on discretion was inapplicable to the claim of a New York resident, and the claim was governed by the old ERISA claims regulations of pre-January 2017, plaintiff’s defeat was assured. 
Continue Reading What a Difference Discretion Makes