After McKennon Law Group PC Aggressively Pursues Fee Motion, District Judge Awards Plaintiff in ERISA Disability Case Nearly $90,000 in Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Interest

On March 3, 2020, in the matter of Earl Durham v. Aetna Life Insurance Company, Case No. 8:19-cv-01494-DOC-DFM, Judge David O. Carter of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California granted the McKennon Law Group PC’s motion for attorneys’ fees, costs and interest after its client prevailed in his ERISA lawsuit.  Aetna had wrongfully terminated Durham’s disability benefits and then reversed its decision and reinstated his claim shortly after the lawsuit was filed.  The Court approved hourly rates of $750 for Managing Shareholder Robert McKennon and $525 and $375 for associates Andrea Soliz and Nicholas West, respectively.  In granting the motion, the Court rejected several of Aetna’s arguments, including that Durham should not recover fees for work done after the administrative denial but prior to filing the Complaint.  The Court concluded that McKennon Law Group PC’s pre-filing efforts were in direct pursuit of the litigation and were recoverable.  The Court also rejected Aetna’s argument that fees incurred after Aetna made a $35,000 settlement offer were not compensable, finding that there was no precedent to support this argument and that Aetna’s $35,000 offer was not reasonable.  In the end, after determining that Durham was entitled to a fee award because he had achieved “some degree of success on the merits,” the Court awarded him almost $90,000 in fees, costs and interest.