Robert Nixon, et al. v. Elevance Health, Inc., et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Kentucky
DecidedJuly 9, 2026
Docket3:19-cv-00076
StatusUnknown

This text of Robert Nixon, et al. v. Elevance Health, Inc., et al. (Robert Nixon, et al. v. Elevance Health, Inc., et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robert Nixon, et al. v. Elevance Health, Inc., et al., (E.D. Ky. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY CENTRAL DIVISION FRANKFORT ROBERT NIXON, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) Case No. 3:19-cv-00076-GFVT-EBA ) v. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION ) & ELEVANCE HEALTH, INC., et al., ) ORDER ) Defendants. )

*** *** *** *** Two matters stand before the Court: First, the Plaintiffs’ Unopposed Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement, [R. 124]; and Second, Plaintiffs’ Motion for Award of Attorney’s Fees to Class Counsel and for Service Awards to the Class Representatives. [R. 125]. The parties seek final approval of the class action settlement, which the Court previously preliminarily approved on December 17, 2025. [R. 119]. Plaintiffs also seek attorney fees in the amount of $825,000 and service awards of $17,500 to each of the four class representatives. [R. 125 at 1]. The Defendants do not oppose the final approval of the class action settlement or the request for attorney fees and service awards. For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS the Plaintiffs’ motions. I The background of this case is well-developed on the Record. See [R. 119 at 1–3; R. 124 at 1–9]. Elevance Health previously denied coverage for minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion surgery as “investigational” and “not medically necessary” under its prior Medical Policy SURG.000127. [R. 119 at 1]. Elevance later revised its Medical Policy to cover the procedure in certain instances. Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on October 23, 2019. After nearly two years of litigation, the Court entered a scheduling order on September 30, 2021. After engaging in discovery, the parties began discussing a possible settlement. The parties filed their Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement on March 17, 2025. [R. 114]. On December 17, 2025, the Court preliminarily approved the proposed settlement. [R. 119]. The Court scheduled a final fairness hearing for July 6, 2026. [R.

123]. Before the hearing, Plaintiffs filed their Unopposed Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement [R. 124] and the motion for attorney fees and service awards [R. 125]. The Court addresses these motions in turn. II A “The claims of a class proposed to be certified for purposes of settlement may be settled only with the court’s approval.” Cooper v. Peoples Bank, No. 3:23-CV-00389-GNS-RSE, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68105, at *4 (W.D. Ky. Mar. 30, 2026) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)). Rule 23 prescribes a three-step process for approving a class action settlement: (1) preliminary approval of the proposed settlement, (2) notice to all affected class members, and (3) a final approval

hearing. Id. At the first step, the Court considered the Rule 23(e) factors and a separate, but related, seven-factor test used in the Sixth Circuit. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2); UAW v. GMC, 497 F.3d 615, 631 (6th Cir. 2007); see also [R. 119]. At step two, after receiving notice, any class member may object to the proposed settlement. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(5). Step three requires a hearing to take place before the Court approves any class action settlement. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2) (“the court may approve [the proposal] only after a hearing[.]”). All three steps occurred in this case. At step one, the Court preliminarily approved the class action settlement on December 17, 2025. [R. 119]. The parties then began the process of notifying individuals covered by the class. [R. 124 at 7–9]. The deadline for class members to object to the settlement was April 18, 2026. As of June 9, 2026, no class members filed any objections, nor did any request to be excluded from the settlement. [Id. at 9]. Exactly 1,028 potential class members received a Class Notice that was not returned as undeliverable.1 [Id. at 8]. At step three, the Court conducted a final fairness hearing with the parties on July 6, 2026.

Where an unopposed motion for final approval does not contain any objections from class members, it is unnecessary for the Court to reapply the factors already addressed at the preliminary approval stage. See, e.g., Cooper, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68105, at *4–5 (approving final class settlement and attorneys’ fees without new factors analysis). Nevertheless, the Court will briefly readdress the UAW factors while noting that the analysis has not materially changed since issuing the preliminary approval. See generally [R. 119]. In the Sixth Circuit, district courts consider seven factors in determining whether a class action settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate: (1) the risk of fraud or collusion; (2) the complexity, expense and likely duration of the litigation; (3) the amount of discovery engaged in by the parties; (4) the likelihood of success on the merits; (5) the opinions of class counsel and class representatives; (6) the reaction of absent class members; and (7) the public interest.

UAW, 497 F.3d at 631. As set forth below, the settlement clearly meets the standard for final settlement approval. There is very little risk of fraud or collusion in this case. The parties engaged in extensive motions practice over the course of several years, clashing over motions to dismiss, a motion to

1 The parties retained Rust Consulting, Inc., as the settlement administrator. Defendants provided Rust Consulting with a list of settlement class members. Rust Consulting then contacted these individuals. Of the 1,038 mailed notices, 117 returned to Rust Consulting as undeliverable. Rust Consulting took several additional steps to obtain accurate contact information for those 117 initially returned pieces of mail and was able to update nearly all of the “undeliverable” addresses. See [R. 124 at 8]; [R. 124-2]. strike class allegations, and extensive discovery before beginning settlement discussions. The extensive history of this case reflects the fact that ERISA litigation is complex, expensive, and time-consuming. Karpik v. Huntington Bancshares Inc., No. 2:17-cv-1153, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38641, at *16–17 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 18, 2021) (“The complexity inherent in class actions is

amplified in ERISA class actions”). Discovery in this case has been exhaustive. The parties exchanged over 20,000 pages of documents, conducted depositions of the named plaintiffs and the corporate defendants’ 30(b)(6) representatives, and reviewed internal information regarding the defendants’ formulation and adoption of the medical policy at issue. [R. 124 at 19–20]. It is impossible to predict whether plaintiffs would have been successful had they proceeded to trial, but it bears noting that the Court denied the Defendants’ motion to dismiss and their motion to strike the class allegations. While this does not necessarily mean that plaintiffs would have been ultimately successful, it is enough to say that the likelihood of success on the merits weighed against the relief obtained by the parties’ agreement favors approving the settlement. McDowell v. Pluto Acquisition Opco, LLC, No. 23-cv-12827, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS

211252, at *4 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 27, 2025). The Court further finds that the opinions of class counsel and the class representatives weigh in favor of the settlement. Class counsel is experienced in this type of class action ERISA litigation and characterizes this agreement as one that provides “substantial relief to the Class Members” by achieving “the material relief requested by the Complainants.” [R. 124 at 18].

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin
417 U.S. 156 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Moulton v. United States Steel Corp.
581 F.3d 344 (Sixth Circuit, 2009)
Amber Gascho v. Global Fitness Holdings, LLC
822 F.3d 269 (Sixth Circuit, 2016)
Rawlings v. Prudential-Bache Properties, Inc.
9 F.3d 513 (Sixth Circuit, 1993)
In re Cardizem CD Antitrust Litigation
218 F.R.D. 508 (E.D. Michigan, 2003)
Dehoyos v. Allstate Corp.
240 F.R.D. 269 (W.D. Texas, 2007)
In re Broadwing, Inc. Erisa Litigation
252 F.R.D. 369 (S.D. Ohio, 2006)
Dick v. Sprint Communications Co.
297 F.R.D. 283 (W.D. Kentucky, 2014)
Ramey v. Cincinnati Enquirer, Inc.
508 F.2d 1188 (Sixth Circuit, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Robert Nixon, et al. v. Elevance Health, Inc., et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robert-nixon-et-al-v-elevance-health-inc-et-al-kyed-2026.