Excerpt: On May 24, 2010 the U. S. Supreme Court held that a party does not need to be a 'prevailing party' in order to be eligible for an attorneys' fees award under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). In reaching this decision, the Court relied on the statutory language of the applicable statute, which does not include any 'prevailing party' requirement, and noted that Congress is able to impose limitations on the availability of attorneys' fees when it deems fit. Hardt v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company.