Damages: Prevailing employer awarded attorneys’ fees in ERISA suit

Where the company prevailed on the employee’s ERISA claims, it was awarded over $76,000 in attorneys’ fees.

Background

Richard D. Kelly sued Altria Client Services, LLC and Fidelity Workplace Services, LLC, alleging they failed to timely process his requests for transactions in his Deferred Profit-Sharing Plan for Salaried Employees. The court previously granted defendants’ motions for summary judgment and denied plaintiff’s summary judgment motion. Defendants now move for an award of attorney’s fees.

Altria

The Altria defendants are seeking a total award of $124,045 in attorney’s fees incurred in connection with discovery that plaintiff initiated with respect to Counts One and Three and their motion for summary judgment with respect to these same counts, at the following rates: $150 for paralegals, $350 for associates and $600 for partners.

The court agrees that Hunton’s hourly rates are reasonable considering the experience and skill of counsel and the prevailing rate of other attorneys in Richmond. However, Altria defendants included no support to justify an additional blanket $10,000 for preparing their fee petition. Therefore the court finds that Hunton’s hourly rates are reasonable but will reduce the requested total by $10,000.

The court will also make the following adjustments to Altria defendants’ hours requested. First, the court will exclude all hours performed by the paralegal because “purely clerical tasks are ordinarily a part of a law office’ overhead,” and ‘should not be compensated for at all.” Second, the court will deduct fees by Mr. Shebelskie and Mr. Chumbly related to the discovery dispute on Oct. 21, 2024, because Altria defendants were “unsuccessful” on most of the issues.

Third, the court will exclude Mr. Chumbly’s entries for reviewing and analyzing the court’s Dec. 4, 2024, communication on motions to seal. Finally, the court will exercise its discretion to reduce the requested hours by an additional 10 percent based on Altria defendants’ degree of success. Therefore, the court will award the Altria defendants a total of $76,131 in attorney’s fees.

Fidelity

Fidelity requests an award of $98,090 for attorney’s fees incurred in connection with the underlying legal matter and preparing the fees application. Because Fidelity did not submit to the court an enumerated breakdown of hours worked, the court cannot award them attorney’s fees at this time. However, the court will give Fidelity leave to renew their motion for attorney’s fees to file more particularized documentation.

Altria defendants’ motion for attorney’s fees granted in part, denied in part. Fidelity’s motion for fees denied without prejudice.

Kelly v. Altria Client Services LLC, Case No. 3:23-cv-725, Aug. 11, 2025. EDVA at Richmond (Hudson). VLW 025-3-331. 16 pp.