6th Circuit Upholds Award of Attorneys' Fees to Plan Fiduciary

CINCINNATI - The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that a federal judge properly awarded attorneys' fees to a plaintiff whose suit against the administrator of an employee health plan was remanded to state court, because the administrator "lacked an objectively reasonable basis" for removing the case to federal court. Taylor Chevrolet v. Medical Mutual Services LLC, No. 07-4505 (6th Cir.).

In a Dec. 22 order, the appellate court held that the plaintiffs' claims were not federally preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, therefore the defendant had no basis for removal.

In March 2003, Taylor Chevrolet …