Labor Department Asks High Court to Skip ESOP Lawyer Fee Suit

The Labor Department advised the US Supreme Court to skip a case seeking to force the department to pay attorneys’ fees after losing a trial over an employee stock ownership plan transaction.

A lower court’s decision declining to assess attorneys’ fees against the department is a “factbound determination” that doesn’t warrant attention from the Supreme Court, the department said in a Monday opposition brief. That correct decision doesn’t conflict with any appeals court rulings, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly denied petitions by parties seeking attorneys’ fees from the government under the Equal Access to Justice Act, the department ...