MetLife Must Pay $293K in Fees After Settling Disability Case

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. must pay $293,115 in fees to the attorneys of a Morgan Stanley financial adviser whose long-term disability benefits were reinstated as part of a court settlement after two years of litigation.

The requested amount is reasonable, Judge James Lorenz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California held Jan. 31, rejecting all of MetLife’s arguments to the contrary. Lorenz was asked to resolve the fee dispute after the parties failed to agree over how much MetLife would have to pay to the adviser’s attorneys.

Lorenz pointed to the attorneys’ detailed “29-page Fee Chart,” ...