A fuel oil company that won dismissal of a single restitution claim in a dispute with its health insurer over one employee's benefits may be entitled to attorney fees, even though the insurer later dropped the rest of its suit after settling with the employee, a unanimous federal appeals panel ruled Tuesday.
The Second Circuit panel in Scarangella v. Group Health, 12-2750, vacated Southern District Judge Richard Sullivan's (See Profile) decision denying attorney fees. Sullivan ruled that the now-defunct Long Island-based fuel oil company, Village Fuel, was not entitled to fees because it was not a party to the settlement and because the dismissal of the restitution claim was merely procedural.
