Opinion ID: 1924685
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Petty Appellants

Text: Appellants next argue that the Commonwealth Court erred in finding Robert Petty and R.G. Petty Masonry (collectively the Petty Appellants) jointly and severally liable for attorneys' fees and expenses incurred by Highmark. Appellants contend that the Petty Appellants should not be included in the court's fee award because their class action complaint makes clear that, as subscribers and policyholders of NEPA, they did not assert any claims against Highmark. Instead, the Petty Appellants only sought relief from NEPA and the Insurance Commissioner. In this regard, Appellants observe that their complaint defined two discrete subclasses of plaintiffs: (a) the class of all policyholders and subscribers of Defendant Highmark improperly charged a risk and contingency factor in their filed premium rates for 2004 or any other year. Excluded from the classes are [Highmark], its affiliates, subsidiaries and predecessors in interest, and all officers or employees of any such entity; and (b) the class of all policyholders and subscribers of Defendant NEPA charged a risk and contingency factor in their filed premium rates for 2004 or any other year. Excluded from the class are [NEPA], its affiliates, subsidiaries and predecessors in interest, and all officers of employees of any such entity. Class Action Complaint at ¶ 41. Further, in their complaint, Appellants assert that Appellant R.G. Petty contracts with [Appellee] NEPA to provide health insurance coverage for its employees. Id. at ¶ 11. Lastly, Appellants maintain that Appellant Robert Petty, the sole proprietor of R.G. Petty, is insured by NEPA as a subscriber to R.G. Petty's group policy. See id. at ¶ 12. Thus, Appellants argue that the Petty Appellants cannot be liable for fees incurred by Highmark. Moreover, Appellants argue that to require the Petty Appellants to pay attorneys' fees to Highmark does not further the purpose of counsel fees, which is to deter the filing of frivolous and otherwise improper lawsuits, because the Petty Appellants did not file any suit against Highmark in the first instance. See Brief for Appellants at 25 (citing Thunberg v. Strause, 545 Pa. at 616, 682 A.2d at 300 (observing that [t]he Judicial Code permits the award of attorneys' fees in an attempt to curb the filing of frivolous and otherwise improperly brought lawsuits)). [9] Highmark argues that the Petty Appellants were properly included in the court's fee award. While the Petty Appellants did not file any direct claims against Highmark, Highmark contends that they are part of the plaintiff group that has filed serial actions against the Blue Plans despite the Commonwealth Court's previous decisions, which have held that such lawsuits are improper. In this regard, Highmark maintains that the Petty Appellants are not newcomers to these proceedings and should be held accountable for the filing of the lawsuit as the other Appellants. It would be premature for this Court to consider the issue of whether Highmark is entitled to attorneys' fees against the Petty Appellants absent factual findings by the Commonwealth Court pursuant to Sections 2503(7) and 2503(9).