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

Mealey's Attorney Fees

October 09, 2024
$6 Million Settlement Of MDL Over Health Care Firms’ Data Breach Gets Final OK

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Six months after he preliminarily approved a $6 million settlement of a multidistrict litigation over a 2020 data breach experienced by a pediatric medical services provider, a Florida federal judge granted a motion by the plaintiffs for final approval of that settlement, as well as an accompanying motion for attorney fees and costs.
October 09, 2024
2nd Circuit: Keyword Search Ads Based On Trademarks Not Infringing

NEW YORK — Affirming a New York federal judge’s entry of judgment on the pleadings in a trademark dispute between competing eyewear brands, the Second Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 8 said that “the mere act of purchasing a search engine keyword that is a competitor’s trademark does not alone, in the context of keyword search advertising, constitute trademark infringement.”
October 09, 2024
7th Circuit: No Fees In Trademark Dispute Over Pipes For Smoking

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois was right to deny a smoking pipe manufacturer’s motion for attorney fees after a plaintiff trademark owner voluntarily dismissed with prejudice his infringement claim against the company, a panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, finding that the defendant company failed to show how the case is “exceptional” as required for attorney fees under the Lanham Act.
October 09, 2024
$490M Settlement Between Apple, Investors Over IPhone Sales Gets Final OK

OAKLAND, Calif. — Finding it “fair, adequate, and reasonable,” a federal judge in California granted final approval of a $490 million settlement in a class complaint brought by investors in Apple Inc. who say the company’s CEO issued misleading statements about Apple’s sales of iPhones in China and awarded class counsel $107.8 million, or 22% of the settlement fund, in attorney fees.
October 08, 2024
U.S. High Court Hears Arguments On Preliminary Injunction And Attorney Fees

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A preliminary injunction is nothing more than “a threshold prediction of the likelihood of success based on a truncated record” and can’t make a plaintiff a prevailing party for the purposes of awarding attorney fees, an attorney representing the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles argued Oct. 8 before the U.S. Supreme Court.
October 08, 2024
3rd Circuit Affirms Rulings For Former Exec In ERISA ‘Top Hat’ Benefits Row

PHILADELPHIA — Upholding rulings issued after a bench trial, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said in a nonprecedential disposition that the rate used to calculate a lump sum distribution was unreasonable under the terms of the “top hat” supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP) at issue and that there was no clear error in the finding that the board “acted in bad faith.”
October 08, 2024
$500K Attorney Fee Deal Struck, Appeal Over ESG Factor Ruling Dropped

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri federal judge has adopted a stipulation in which Missouri state officials agreed to a $500,000 attorney fee award and dismissal with prejudice of their appeal of a ruling that imposed a statewide permanent injunction barring enforcement of parts of two new rules a trade association said would have required “a state-authored script” for “incorporating a social or nonfinancial objective into investment advice.”
October 07, 2024
Settlement With ‘Landmark’ $10M Recovery Gets Initial OK In Mortality Table Row

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal granted preliminary approval to a class settlement including what retirees said would be a “landmark recovery” of $10 million on Oct. 4; the proposal in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over allegedly outdated mortality tables used to calculate joint and survivor annuity (JSA) benefits in two Citgo Petroleum Corp. pension plans also includes up to $4.75 million for attorney fees, expenses and service awards.
October 07, 2024
Appeals Court Says Lower Court Failed To Follow Guidelines For Insolvent Estates

JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi appeals court reversed and remanded a lower court’s final judgment ordering payment of creditors’ claims and closing a decedent’s insolvent estate, which gave priority to attorney fee claims but denied other claims, finding that because the lower court failed to provide evidence to show that it complied with insolvent estate statutory requirements, the judgment must be reversed and remanded.
October 04, 2024
Federal Judge Grants Attorney Fees To Defendant In FTC Deception Case

ATLANTA — A federal judge in Georgia granted partial attorney fees to one of two men the Federal Trade Commission alleged were involved in deceptively marketing and selling discount club memberships through online landing pages and telemarketing calls.
October 03, 2024
Retirees: $10M Would Be ‘Landmark Recovery’ In Actuarial Equivalence Case

CHICAGO — Saying it would be a “landmark recovery,” retirees who filed an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over allegedly outdated mortality tables used to calculate joint and survivor annuity (JSA) benefits in two Citgo Petroleum Corp. pension plans on Oct. 2 asked an Illinois federal court for preliminary approval of a $10 million class settlement plus up to $4.75 million for attorney fees, expenses and service awards.
October 03, 2024
10th Circuit Addresses ERISA Disclosures In Coverage Dispute Ruling

DENVER — On review of several decisions in a case over residential treatment coverage, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated summary judgment for the insureds on a Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Parity Act) claim for lack of standing and, in “an issue of first impression in this circuit,” ruled that an administrative services agreement (ASA) falls within an Employee Retirement Income Security Act disclosure requirement.
October 03, 2024
Jury Award In Favor Of Homeowners, Against Contractor Supported By Evidence

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Court of Appeals on Oct. 2 affirmed a jury verdict entered in favor of homeowners and against a contractor in a contract dispute after determining that the verdict on the homeowners’ breach of contract and consumer fraud claims is supported by “substantial evidence.”
October 02, 2024
Fracking Fluids Company Wins More Than $514,885 For Breach Of Contract

HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas has awarded a drilling fluids company a combined $514,885.08 for breach of contract, attorney fees and interest in a dispute over an agreement between the fluid company and a hydraulic fracturing services operator. The judge said the fracking services operator presented no evidence to support its position that it did not owe payment pursuant to the contract.
October 01, 2024
Certification For Appeal Of Interim Attorney Fees Denied In Clean Water Act Case

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge in California in a docket entry denied a request by two cities for reconsideration of interim attorney fees and for certification of the fee order as final but stayed until October enforcement of the order that granted fees to an environmental organization that sued the cities under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging bacteria pollution from stormwater sewer systems.
October 01, 2024
More Than $17.3M In Attorney Fees Awarded After Royalty Class Settlement

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A federal judge in Oklahoma granted a renewed motion for $17,333,333 in attorney fees in an oil and gas royalty payments class lawsuit that has gone on for more than a dozen years and that was settled for $52 million, finding that the requested fees were “reasonable” and opining that distribution of the “fees among class counsel is a matter within their sole discretion.”
September 30, 2024
E-Cig MDL Plaintiffs Seek Fees After Altria Settles Tribal Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — The last remaining claims in a California federal court multidistrict litigation against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and its subsidiaries have been settled, according to a Sept. 27 filing by the plaintiffs’ fee committee asking the court to approve fees and costs of roughly $1.2 million in connection with the settlement of Indian tribes’ claims against Altria.
September 30, 2024
Man Appeals Approval Of $600M Ohio Train Deal, As Judge Grants Fee Award

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — One of the plaintiffs opposing the $600 million settlement in the litigation against Norfolk Southern Corp. over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil on Sept. 27 filed a one-page notice of appeal with the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after the Ohio federal judge presiding over the case issued an order granting final approval to the deal on the same day. In a separate order, the judge granted attorney fees of $162 million.
September 27, 2024
Farmers, USDA Spar Over Decision Regulators Made On Remand Of Crop Insurance Row

BAY CITY, Mich. — Farmers and federal regulators are again sparring in a Michigan federal court over a crop insurance dispute involving a dry-bean revenue endorsement (DBRE), with issues of contention now including whether the court retains jurisdiction after having awarded attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) and whether regulators followed the court’s directions on remand.
September 25, 2024
Plaintiffs Defend $162M In Fees For Train Case, Oppose Attorneys’ Bid For A Cut

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The plaintiffs in the litigation over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have filed a reply brief in Ohio federal court arguing that it should approve their motion for $162 million in attorney fees, reimbursement of $18 million in litigation costs incurred by class counsel and service awards of $15,000 to each class representative because “the settlement has been a success by all measures, as demonstrated by its extraordinary participation rate.” They also argue that attorneys who seek a contingency fee arrangement are “misguided.”
September 25, 2024
Judge: Man Owes Millions For Using American Airlines Marks In Hiring Grift

MIAMI — A man accused by American Airlines Inc. of trademark and copyright infringement for using the company’s intellectual property while allegedly running a scheme to trick job applicants into paying for fake background checks owes the company more than $3 million in damages and attorney fees, a federal judge in Florida held after granting summary judgment to the airline on most of its claims.
September 24, 2024
Judge Awards Singaporean Company $124K In Attorney Fees For Ghanaian Turbine Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Sept. 23 granted in part a Singaporean company’s motion for attorney fees after previously entering a default judgment of more than $113 million against the Republic of Ghana for abruptly terminating the company’s gas turbine contract.
September 20, 2024
Tribunal Finds No Jurisdiction Over Oil Rig Investors’ Claims Against Mexico

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Sept. 19 published a tribunal’s award rejecting jurisdiction over U.S. oil rig investors’ $270 million North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) claim against Mexico for allegedly driving their investment into bankruptcy, but awarded Mexico no attorney fees due to its “procedural misconduct” during the document production phase.
September 20, 2024
Judge Gives $3M Securities Class Settlement Final OK, Lowers Attorney Fee

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted final approval of a $3 million settlement of a suit over alleged violation of federal securities laws but, without specific explanation, awarded class counsel about $44,000 less than the $1 million attorney fee requested.
September 19, 2024
California Appeals Court: Contractor Can’t Escape Attorney Fees For Homeowners

SAN FRANCISCO — A California appeals court held that the president of a construction company is liable for more than $94,000 in attorney fees and costs in a home construction breach-of-contract suit because he stood in the shoes of the company when he signed a contract and later filed a complaint against the homeowners.