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The Pennsylvania Superior Court has upheld a ruling granting attorney fees to State Farm Insurance due to the insured's lawyer's "vexatious" conduct in conducting "frivolous appeals" in an insurance dispute.

In Wallace v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, a three-judge panel consisting of Judges John Bender, Anne Lazarus and Eugene Strassburger affirmed a Philadelphia court's arbitration award in favor of State Farm, including attorney fees, in plaintiff Ruth Wallace's coverage dispute with the insurer.

The court rejected Wallace's argument that the trial court erred by awarding attorney fees without conducting an evidentiary hearing over attempts by her attorney, Elliott Tolan, to have the arbitrator in the case removed.

"In the instant matter, this court sua sponte imposed sanctions upon attorney Tolan during Wallace's initial appeal 'based upon his obdurate and vexatious prosecution of frivolous appeals[,] despite his full knowledge that Wallace never preserved an objection to arbitrator [Marc] Rickles' participation,'" Lazarus wrote in the court's June 30 memorandum opinion.

The court also rejected Wallace's assertion that the record was unclear as to the facts.

"State Farm submitted a motion for sanctions, attorneys' fees, and costs on January 11, 2019, appended with detailed time records and supporting affidavits from its attorneys stating that their rates were 'fair, reasonable[,] and in accordance with rates commonly charged by other lawyers in this locale with [similar] experience and education for similar services,'" Lazarus said.

"In calculating fees and costs in accordance with this court's order," she added, "the trial court reviewed State Farm's comprehensive submissions and Wallace's response and, in its discretion, struck nine separate time entries, reducing the requested amount of counsel fees occasioned by Wallace's prior frivolous appeal from $10,506 to $5,967, 'to eliminate any excessive or duplicative charges for the research and preparation required to address the issues in the pending appeal.'"

Under the circumstances, Lazarus said that the award of fees was appropriate.

"We find that, where this court previously determined attorney Tolan's conduct was vexatious and obdurate such that attorneys' fees were warranted under Rule 2744, ordered the trial court to calculate the appropriate attorneys' fees, and the fee award is supported by record evidence, the trial court did not palpably abuse its discretion in awarding such fees without an evidentiary hearing," Lazarus said.

Tolan did not return a call seeking comment.

State Farm is represented by Lise Luborsky of Bennett Bricklin & Saltzburg, who did not return a call for comment.