The Supreme Court has granted certiorari on two issues pertinent to the concerns of this blog.
Ever wonder about the meaning of "prevailing party" under Section 502(g) of ERISA? The U.S. Supreme Court is about to take on this issue, perhaps as soon as April, in Hardt v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., 09-448, a case from the Fourth Circuit. More details from the SCOTUS blog:
Issues: (1) Whether ERISA § 502(g)(1) provides a district court with discretion to award reasonable attorney’s fees *only* to a prevailing party; and (2) whether a party is *entitled* to attorney’s fees pursuant to § 502(g)(1) when she persuades a district court that a violation of ERISA has occurred, successfully secures a judicially ordered remand requiring a redetermination of entitlement to benefits, and subsequently receives the benefits sought on remand.
Also, last Friday, the Supremes granted cert on Rent-A-Center West v. Jackson (09-497). An employee sued for race discrimination and argued that the predispute arbitration agreement he had signed was unconscionable. A provision in the agreement gave arbitrators exclusive authority to resolve disputes over enforceability of the agreement. The Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 last September that a court, not an arbitrator, should have ruled on the issue of unconscionability.
