Attorney Is Entitled to Fees After Prevailing in Medicaid Annuities Case

A U.S. district court approves an award of attorney's fees for an ElderLawAnswers member attorney who successfully represented a Medicaid applicant who purchased annuities for his wife. Jackson v. Selig (U.S Dist. Ct., E.D. Ark., No. 3:10–CV–00276–BRW, May 9, 2013).

When Richard Jackson entered a nursing home and applied for Medicaid benefits, Arkansas denied his application due to excess resources. Mr. Jackson then bought two annuities that were payable to his wife as the primary beneficiary and re-applied for benefits. The state found that Mr. Jackson was the owner of the annuities and that his resources still exceeded the applicable limit. Mr. Jackson sued the state in federal court and won a preliminary injunction. Both parties asked for summary judgment. (Mr. Jackson died during the pendency of the lawsuit.) The court granted summary judgment to Mr. Jackson, holding that because the annuities complied with federal Medicaid law, they could not be considered as assets when determining Medicaid eligibility.

Mr. Jackson's estate sought attorney's fees in the amount of $29,968.75, representing 169.25 hours of work, plus $350 for costs incurred for filing fees. The state objected to the request, arguing that because it complied with the preliminary injunction by reimbursing Mr. Jackson's health care providers for the care provided to Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jackson obtained complete relief during the pendency of the preliminary injunction and the state should not be responsible for fees for services incurred after Mr. Jackson's last bill from the nursing home was paid.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas approves the entire award of attorney's fees. The court reasons that in the state's motion for summary judgment, it requested reimbursement of fees it paid to providers, meaning that if the state had prevailed, "any relief Plaintiff was afforded by the preliminary injunction would have been short lived."

Mr. Jackson was represented by ElderLawAnswers member attorney Chad R. Oldham from Jonesboro, Arkansas. 

For the full text of this decision, click here.

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