Employees that sue for disability and other benefits under ERISA may recover attorneys’ fees and costs if they demonstrate “some degree of success on the merits,” according to the US Supreme Court. Unlike other federal statues, ERISA does not contain a fee-shifting provision. However, in Hardt v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., Hardt incurred $58,920 in attorneys’ fees and recovered $55,250 in disability benefits. The district court awarded attorneys’ fees, but the 4th Circuit reversed the lower Court.
On appeal to the US Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the words “prevailing party” do not appear in ERISA’s fee-award provision. That provision, he said, “expressly grants district courts’ discretion’ to award attorney’s fees ‘to either party.’ ” Thus, attorneys’ fees are subject to the discretion of the district courts in ERISA cases. See also Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club.
ALABAMA WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW 