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 It also awarded fees based on time spent on preparing the fee motion and time for a motion that was withdrawn but became the foundation for a Ninth Circuit brief.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