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

Mealey's Attorney Fees

January 06, 2025
Special Counsel In New Jersey PFAS Settlement Seek More Than $36.7M In Fees

WOODBURY, N.J. — The special counsel to the New Jersey attorney general and the plaintiffs filed a motion in New Jersey state court seeking $36,705,834.80 in attorney fees for their work in reaching a $392,781,963.69 settlement to resolve the state’s lawsuit for cleanup and removal costs from contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
January 03, 2025
Motions For Attorney Fee Award Denied; Judge Says No Party Prevailed On Merits

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge refused to award attorney fees to an insured or to her former attorneys who filed a complaint-in-intervention regarding the enforceability of the attorney-fee contract between the attorneys and the insured because there was no prevailing party as the claims-in-intervention were dismissed based on claim preclusion and not based on the merits of the intervenors’ claims.
January 02, 2025
$2.45M Class Settlement In ERISA Annuity Calculation Case Wins Final Approval

MILWAUKEE — A class of about 500 individuals whose joint survivor annuity (JSA) benefits were calculated using a 1971 mortality table and 6% interest rate will receive increased benefits under a $2.45 million Employee Retirement Income Security Act settlement that a Wisconsin federal judge granted final approval.
January 02, 2025
9th Circuit Panel Dismisses Appeal Of Fee Denial Reconsideration In CWA Case

SAN FRANCISCO — Citing lack of jurisdiction, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel has granted an environmental organization’s motion to dismiss an appeal the cities of Sunnyvale and Mountain View, Calif., filed of a federal court’s denial of reconsideration of interim attorney fees to the organization in a Clean Water Act (CWA) case.
December 30, 2024
5th Circuit Argument Set In Reinsurer’s Appeal Involving Timely Notice

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has set oral argument for Feb. 5 in a reinsurer’s appeal of a $2,866,423.97 judgment that includes attorney fees; a key issue in the case is whether the reinsurer was given timely notice.
December 19, 2024
Judge Orders Class Notified In $18.2M Settlement Of Senior Home Understaffing Suit

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge ordered that notification be issued to more than 4,100 class members comprising family members of former and current residents of care facilities after the court granted final approval of an $18.2 million settlement with the facilities’ operator, including $10.5 million in attorney fees, for claims that residents were harmed by understaffing in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and elder financial abuse law.
December 19, 2024
Class Counsel Get A 3rd Of $9M Global Deal In ERISA Proprietary Funds Suit

CINCINNATI — An Ohio federal magistrate judge on Dec. 18 granted final approval to a global $9 million settlement of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over proprietary funds, from which she authorized paying the requested amounts of $3 million for attorney fees and $30,000 for service awards.
December 19, 2024
$1.25 Million Settlement Approved In Onix Group Data Breach Class Action

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge presiding over a consolidated class action for negligence and consumer protection violations related to a 2023 data breach experienced by a Pennsylvania firm granted final approval to a $1.25 million settlement of the suit, overruling two objections and mostly granting requested attorney fees and service awards.
December 18, 2024
Morgan Stanley Expenses Settlement Reaffirmed, Attorney Fees Disgorgement Denied

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California reaffirmed the fairness of a more than $10 million settlement in a case accusing Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (MSSB) of various wage violations and declined to vacate a supplemental attorney fees award, deny further distributions or disgorge past payments.
December 18, 2024
Split Ohio High Court Rules On Prevailing Party In Deceptive Trade Practices Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A plaintiff who convinces a jury that a defendant violated the Ohio Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) but is awarded no damages or injunctive relief is not a “prevailing party” under the act, the Ohio Supreme Court majority ruled, reversing attorney fees for the plaintiff.
December 18, 2024
$19M Class Settlement In Lawsuit Over ESOP Wins Final Approval

TAMPA, Fla. — Upon receiving a joint notice of nonobjection, a Florida federal judge on Dec. 17 granted final approval to a $19 million class settlement that the plaintiffs said will “provide[] an average recovery of more than $100,000 per class member on a gross basis, topping the chart of recent ESOP [employee stock ownership plan] settlements by a substantial margin.”
December 17, 2024
GEICO Moves To Transfer Attorney Fee Issues To District Court In Fraud Suit

ATLANTA — GEICO filed a motion in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to transfer its motion for appellate attorney fee consideration to a district court in its suit against a health care clinic and related parties for allegedly submitting fraudulent no-fault insurance charges, arguing that because the lower court will be considering GEICO’s motion for attorney fees, “judicial economy” will be served by having only the district court “analyze the attorney’s fee issue.”
December 17, 2024
Final Approval Recommended For $19M Class Deal In Lawsuit Over ESOP

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge has recommended awarding the requested attorney fees and final approval of a $19 million class settlement that the plaintiffs say would “provide[] an average recovery of more than $100,000 per class member on a gross basis, topping the chart of recent ESOP [employee stock ownership plan] settlements by a substantial margin.”
December 13, 2024
Ohio High Court Finds Man Vexatious Litigator, Orders Him To Pay Prosecutor’s Fees

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After reviewing documents submitted by a county prosecuting attorney, the Ohio Supreme Court found that a relator lied about public records requests he allegedly sent to the prosecutor and ordered the relator to pay the prosecutor $1,020 as a sanction for frivolous conduct.
December 13, 2024
Kansas Appeals Court Affirms Damages Against Stadium Sub, Remands Fee Issue

TOPEKA, Kan. — In a 20-year-old construction defect case, the Kansas Court of Appeals has affirmed the apportionment of damages due to a contractor by a subcontractor but remanded again an attorney fees issue.
December 12, 2024
$3.5M Settlement In ERISA Suit Over TDFs, Another Fund Wins Final Approval

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge has granted final approval to a $3.5 million class settlement that resolved retirement plan participants’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenging the use of target-date funds (TDFs) and another investment option.
December 12, 2024
CPAP Judge Gives Final OK To Medical Monitoring Settlement, Attorney Fees Awards

PITTSBURGH — The federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation involving the recall of approximately 10.8 million continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea devices has given final approval to a $25 million settlement to resolve medical monitoring claims and awarded $4.8 million for attorney fees and costs.
December 11, 2024
Granite Installer Awarded Reduced Attorney Fees After Age Bias Verdict

PITTSBURGH — A granite installer awarded nearly $80,000 for compensatory damages and front and back pay on age bias claims by a federal jury was awarded more than twice that in attorney fees and costs by a federal judge in Pennsylvania.
December 05, 2024
Doctor Entitled To Almost $98K In Attorney Fees For Success On Disability Claim

SAN FRANCISCO — A pediatrician who successfully prevailed on her claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on her high risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus is entitled to $97,965 in attorney fees and $625 in costs because the pediatrician succeeded on the merits of her disability claim and the disability insurer presented no special circumstances that would warrant against an award, a California federal judge said in granting the pediatrician’s motion for attorney fees and costs.
December 05, 2024
Delaware Judge Will Not Revise Opinion That Musk’s Tesla Pay Package Is Unfair

DOVER, Del. — A Tesla Inc. stockholder vote approving a $56 billion pay package for Elon Musk is not grounds to revise a Delaware judge’s posttrial opinion that Musk is not entitled to the $56 billion compensation package because the vote occurred after the posttrial opinion was issued and not during the litigation, the judge said.
December 05, 2024
$30M 23andMe Data Breach Settlement Gets Court’s Conditional Preliminary OK

SAN FRANCISCO — The California federal judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation involving claims against genetic testing company 23andMe Inc. for failing to protecting users’ data from hackers granted preliminary approval on Dec. 4 to a $30 million settlement of the claims on the condition that the plaintiffs amend their definition of the settlement class to exclude parties who are pursuing arbitration and despite “serious concerns” with the plaintiffs’ $7.5 million attorney fees request.
December 05, 2024
Judge Awards Plaintiffs Almost $60,000 For Discovery Row In Dialysis Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Awarding a little more than half of the amount the plaintiffs requested, an Ohio federal judge has ordered a hospital and its health plan to pay $59,629.38 in attorney fees and costs in connection with a discovery dispute in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case over dialysis payment rates.
December 05, 2024
Class Counsel Confirms $92M Was Wired To Administrator In Insurers’ ACA Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a federal judge entered an order requiring class counsel to return “$92,424,335.84, the excess of the $184,848,671.67 previously distributed for fees over the current fee award,” counsel filed a notice in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims confirming that it wired the $92,424,335.84 to nondispute subclass members in a risk-corridor payment dispute under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
December 04, 2024
Federal Judge Awards Delayed Attorney Fees In Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO — Two years after giving final approval of a settlement, a federal judge approved a motion for attorney fees in a shareholder lawsuit alleging that several senior executives and the board of directors of Pinterest Inc. breached their fiduciary duty by participating in and/or failing to sufficiently prevent a culture of racial and sexual discrimination within the company.
December 04, 2024
Jackson Hewitt $10.8M Wage Suppression Class Settlement Granted Final OK

NEWARK, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey granted final approval of a $10.8 million settlement in a class complaint by individuals who worked for a tax preparation franchisor or franchisees and alleged that there was a conspiracy to suppress compensation via no-poach agreements and issued an order granting attorney fees, expenses and service awards.