There are times when a court may award attorney fees in ERISA disability cases. If your group disability claim enters into the litigation phase after the administrative appeal has been exhausted, you have the right petition the court to have the other side pay attorney fees. But there’s a catch.
The decision to award attorney fees and court costs to the claimant is completely up to the judge. You need to show “some degree of success on the merits” of your case. The judge also sets the percentage of the fees the insurance company must pay. This can result in the insurer getting away with paying a lot less than what you might consider to be a “reasonable” amount of lawyer fees.