Caccavo v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company
- Kimba Wood
- 1:19-cv-06025-KMW-KNF
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Caccavo v. Reliance Standard, Judge Wood granted a stay-related request and denied Reliance’s fee motion without prejudice pending appeal.
Frank Caccavo and Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, particularly regarding the timing of post-judgment proceedings and Reliance Standard’s request for attorneys’ fees.
What happened
In Caccavo v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, the court had already granted Reliance Standard’s motion for summary judgment and denied Frank Caccavo’s cross-motion. The Clerk then entered judgment for Reliance Standard, which moved for attorneys’ fees and costs.
Caccavo appealed the merits ruling and asked the court to stay post-judgment proceedings or postpone deciding the fee motion. Reliance Standard did not oppose postponing the fee decision because the appeal could affect that motion.
Judge Kimba M. Wood granted Caccavo’s request insofar as the court would not decide the fee motion while the appeal was pending. Judge Wood denied Reliance Standard’s attorneys’ fee motion without prejudice, allowing Reliance Standard to renew it within 14 days after the appellate mandate was entered.
The detailed version
- Caccavo v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company · No. 1:19-cv-06025-KMW-KNF
- Kimba Wood
- June 8, 2021
Background
On May 18, 2021, the court granted Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company’s motion for summary judgment and denied Frank Caccavo’s cross-motion for summary judgment. The Clerk entered judgment for Reliance Standard on May 19. Reliance Standard then moved for attorneys’ fees and costs.
On June 3, Caccavo filed a notice of appeal from the May 18 merits ruling. On June 7, he moved to stay all post-judgment proceedings or, alternatively, to defer consideration of Reliance Standard’s fee motion. Reliance Standard did not oppose staying a decision on the fee motion.
Reasoning
The court explained that when a merits appeal is pending, a district court may decide a fee motion, defer ruling on it, or deny it without prejudice and allow a new filing period after the appeal. The court concluded that the appeal’s outcome could affect Reliance Standard’s fee motion—for example, by making the motion moot or requiring it to be amended or supplemented.
Ruling
The court granted Caccavo’s motion insofar as it would not decide the merits of Reliance Standard’s fee motion until the appeal was resolved. It denied Reliance Standard’s motion for attorneys’ fees without prejudice. Reliance Standard may renew that motion within 14 days after the appellate mandate is entered on the action’s electronic docket. The Clerk was directed to terminate the fee motion and the motion to stay or defer consideration.
Judge Kimba M. Wood’s order addressed post-judgment timing and attorneys’ fees; it did not revisit the underlying summary-judgment ruling.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.