A federal judge has awarded legal fees to a hospital as the prevailing party in an ex-employee's whistleblower claim after the plaintiff could not name any laws or regulations broken by the defendant.

Capital Health Systems is entitled to fees for defending lab technician Janice Marrin's claims under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act because her claims about lax procedures at the defendant's microbiology lab are without basis in law or fact, U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson ruled Thursday. Wolfson said the plaintiff had failed to advance any argument to support her CEPA claims. Wolfson said lack of support distinguished Marrin's CEPA claim from a situation where claims were merely not viable.

Capital Health sought reimbursement for efforts to oppose Marrin's whistleblower claim for more than three years, from the first filing of the complaint in March 2014, but Wolfson granted the defendant fees from after the close of discovery in September 2016 until the plaintiff withdrew the CEPA claim in November 2016.