Mealey's Attorney Fees : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Attorney Fees

May 24, 2024
$3.25M Settlement Gets Final OK In ERISA Imprudence Case Over Retirement Plans

BALTIMORE — Resolving an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over use of the GoalMaker asset allocation service and other aspects of a Maryland hospital system’s retirement plans, a Maryland federal judge on May 23 granted final approval to a $3.25 million class settlement and awarded a third of that as attorney fees.
May 24, 2024
$30M Settlement Between Jan-Pro, Franchisees Granted Final Approval

SAN FRANCISCO — A $30 million wage-and-hour settlement between Jan-Pro Franchising International Inc. and California cleaning franchisees in a case in which the franchisees alleged that they were misclassified was granted final approval on May 23 by a federal judge in California, who also partially granted and partially denied a motion for attorney fees and service awards.
May 24, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Reduced Attorney Fee Award In Hail, Wind Damage Coverage Suit

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 23 affirmed a federal court’s reduction of an insured’s attorney fee award from the requested $171,700 to $34,500 in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the insured’s hail and wind property damage, agreeing with the trial court that a reduction in attorney fees was appropriate.
May 24, 2024
Addressing Jurisdiction, 2nd Circuit Issues Mixed Ruling In ERISA Arbitration Case

NEW YORK — Rejecting an “eleventh-hour jurisdictional attack,” a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel partly upheld confirmation of an arbitration award against a private investment manager — including more than $22 million in prejudgment interest — but vacated the challenged judgment as to disgorgement of profits and payment of certain attorney fees and costs.
May 24, 2024
Acella Pharmaceutical Agrees To $41M Settlement For Faulty Thyroid Hormone Drugs

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A Georgia federal judge granted final approval to a $41 million settlement to end claims that a pharmaceutical company made and sold thyroid hormone pills that were subpotent and awarded $5 million in attorney fees.
May 23, 2024
Federal Judge OKs Attorney Fees In Suit Over FriendFinder Shares

NEW YORK — Two investment firms that accused the founder of a social networking website of attempting to force the firms to sell their stake in the company at a discount will pay more than half a million dollars in attorney fees after a New York federal judge found May 22 that the firms brought their suit despite unambiguous terms of the firms’ purchase of securities.
May 22, 2024
Judge Gives Final OK To $1.5 Million Settlement Of College Data Breach Suit

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A Michigan federal judge granted final approval of the settlement of a consolidated negligence class action over a data breach experienced by a college in 2022, deeming the $1.5 million agreement to be “fair, reasonable, and adequate.”
May 21, 2024
Objectors Appeal Final Approval Of Google Location History Settlement

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Three class members who had previously objected to the cy pres nature of a $62 million settlement of a consolidated class action over the purported collection of users’ location data by Google Inc., as well as an accompanying attorney fees award, on May 20 filed notice that they are appealing the final approval of the settlement and the corresponding judgment of a California federal court to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 20, 2024
Divided Panel Clarifies Scope Of Recoverable Fees Under Section 285

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four years after reversing a determination that defendants DISH Network L.L.C. and Sirius XM Radio Inc. (SXM) did not qualify as prevailing parties in a patent infringement action, a divided Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 20 affirmed a Delaware federal judge’s finding on remand that DISH and SXM cannot recoup the attorney fees they incurred during a “voluntary” and “parallel” proceeding before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
May 17, 2024
Attorneys Get 25% Of $169M Exaction Class Settlement In ACA Reinsurance Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge on May 16 granted final approval of a class settlement under which the government will pay $169,022,397.28 to resolve part of a long-running lawsuit over the Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also awarding 25% of that sum, net of expenses, for attorney fees.
May 16, 2024
Briefly: 4th Circuit Reverses Ruling Valuing Property In Pipeline Land Dispute

RICHMOND, Va. — A panel of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a case involving a dispute over a parcel of land sought by a pipeline company, instructing the lower court to reinstate a jury’s $523,327 verdict for the landowners and vacating the court’s order that denied attorney fees.
May 16, 2024
E-Cig MDL Judge Orders Altria To Pay Plaintiffs $13.6M Attorney Fee Award

SAN FRANCISCO — The California federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) and tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and its subsidiaries on May 15 approved an attorney fee award of $13.6 million after approving a $45 million settlement of economic loss claims against Altria brought by class members who purchased e-cigarette products in reliance upon misleading information about their addictiveness and health risks.
May 16, 2024
Fees, Sanctions Wrongly Awarded, Patent Owner Tells Federal Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in California, assigned to a patent case after it had already been closed, erred in granting a Google LLC request for attorney fees to the tune of $191,302.18 and in subsequently sanctioning counsel for the patent owner $63,525.30, the patent owner tells the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 16, 2024
Reinsurer’s $3.2M Appeal Bond Is Approved In Breach Of Contract Dispute

DALLAS — After entering an amended final judgment against a reinsurer for $2,866,423.97, including attorney fees and interest, a Texas federal magistrate judge granted the reinsurer’s unopposed motion for approval of a $3.2 million appeal bond and to stay execution and enforcement of the judgment pending resolution of its appeal.
May 16, 2024
Attorney Fees, Partial Service Awards Granted After $10.5M Thread Count Settlement

CINCINNATI — A federal judge in Ohio awarded class counsel $3.5 million in attorney fees and more than $200,000 in expenses for representing consumers who settled claims with a department store over sheet thread counts for $10.5 million and partially awarded the requested incentive payments for the named plaintiffs, citing Internal Improvement Fund Trustees v. Greenough, one of the cases pointed to by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals when it ruled in Johnson v. NPAS Sol’ns, LLC that class representatives are precluded from receiving personal compensation from the settlement fund.
May 15, 2024
Medical Debt Collection Class Complaint Settlement Provides $4,000 Class Relief

HAMMOND, Ind. — A federal judge in Indiana approved a class settlement in a health care debt Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuit against a law firm and partner that provides $4,000 in recovery to the class, $1,000 the class representative and $14,000 for attorney fees and costs.
May 15, 2024
Reinsurer Seeks Approval Of $3.2M Appeal Bond In Breach Of Contract Dispute

DALLAS — After entry of an amended final judgment against it for $2,866,423.97, including attorney fees and interest, a reinsurer filed a notice of appeal and an unopposed motion for approval of a $3.2 million appeal bond and to stay execution and enforcement of the judgment.
May 15, 2024
Insurance Commissioner Seeks Approval Of Expenses Regarding Liquidated Insurer

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma insurance commissioner, as receiver for a property and casualty insurer in liquidation, filed in Oklahoma state court an application to approve costs and fees related to the administration for the receivership of Go Insurance, which the court previously ordered into liquidation.
May 15, 2024
Re-Awarded Attorney Fees Vacated Due To No Notice In Royalty Class Case

DENVER — A split 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated re-awarded attorney fees following the approval of a $52 million oil and gas royalty payments class settlement, finding that the class did not receive notice of the renewed motion as required under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(h)(1); however, the panel affirmed a $232,440 incentive payment for class representative Chieftain Royalty Co.
May 14, 2024
11th Circuit Vacates Class Settlement, Attorney Fees In GoDaddy TCPA Suit

ATLANTA — A trial court abused its discretion when it approved a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) settlement between a class and GoDaddy.com LLC providing cash or vouchers as it failed to consider amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e)(2), overlooked evidence that the agreement was reached through collusion, failed to properly inform absent class members and miscalculated attorney fees, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled May 13.
May 13, 2024
Citing Jury Verdict, Plaintiffs Seek Attorney Fees From U.S. In Microcaptive Row

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Following a Florida federal jury ruling against the government in consolidated cases over whether the plaintiffs’ involvement with purported microcaptive insurance companies constituted promotion of abusive tax shelters, the corporate plaintiffs are seeking approximately $600,000 in attorney fees and costs, and the government is countering in part that its position was “substantially justified.”
May 10, 2024
Wawa Data Breach Settlement Attorney Fees Award Again Appealed To 3rd Circuit

PHILADELPHIA — A class member in the consolidated class action over the 2019 data breach experienced by convenience store chain Wawa Inc. maintained his objection to a twice-approved attorney fees award that accompanied a $9 million class settlement, filing notice that he was again appealing the matter to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 10, 2024
Magistrate Judge Rejects ‘Unreliable’ ChatGPT Responses In Fee Application Case

NEW YORK — A law firm already received a warning about using the “unreliable” ChatGPT in efforts to secure attorney fees in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) cases, a federal magistrate judge said while recommending that the requested awards be reduced.
May 09, 2024
Objector Appeals $125M PACER Class Settlement Approval To Federal Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An attorney who is a member of a class whose claims that excessive fees were paid to obtain court records via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system (PACER) were settled has appealed the final approval of the $125 million settlement to the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 08, 2024
Judge Dismisses 2nd Dispute Over Attorney Fees In Benicar MDL

CAMDEN, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge on May 7 applied the doctrine of collateral estoppel in dismissing with prejudice claims that an improper amount of attorney fees were awarded to a law firm for its work in the Benicar multidistrict litigation.