A U.S. district court denies attorneys' fees to a Medicaid applicant who succeeded in winning a preliminary injunction preventing her husband's annuity from being counted as an available resource. Flamini v. Velez (U.S. Dist. Ct., D. N.J., No. 12-7304 (RMB/JS), Jan. 23, 2015).
New Jersey resident Elizabeth Flamini entered a nursing home. Her husband, Angelo, purchased an annuity, and Mrs. Flamini applied for Medicaid. The state denied her application, finding that the annuity was an available asset. Mrs. Flamini sued in federal court and asked for a preliminary injunction. The district court granted a preliminary injunction, holding that Mrs. Flamini showed a likelihood of success in demonstrating that the annuity was not an available resource.
The state reviewed Mrs. Flamini's Medicaid application again without counting the annuity as a resource, and it denied Mrs. Flamini Medicaid benefits. Once Mr. Flamini spent down the couple's resources, Mrs. Flamini qualified for Medicaid, and the district court dismissed the case. Mrs. Flamini filed a motion for attorneys' fees, arguing that she was the prevailing party because of her success with the preliminary injunction.
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denies attorneys' fees because the court never made a judgment on the merits of Mrs. Flamini's claim. The court holds that while "granting the preliminary injunction with respect to the [a]nnuity may have resulted in a finding of Medicaid eligibility once [Mrs. Flamini] spent down her resources, the fact remains that this Court never made a determination on the merits of [Mrs. Flamini]’s claims."
For the full text of this decision, go to: https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/new-jersey/njdce/1:2012cv07304/282138/51/0.pdf?ts=1422127052
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