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

Mealey's Attorney Fees

June 25, 2024
Petitioners Urge U.S. High Court To Review Split 9th Circuit EAJA Fee Denial

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The government has been granted more time to respond to a certiorari petition in which an engineering firm and the individuals who owned it before an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) deal that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unsuccessfully challenged argue that denial of their Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) request for attorney fees and nontaxable costs “deepens confusion among the lower courts and creates a circuit split on a matter of great practical importance.”
June 24, 2024
5th Circuit: Store Infringed ‘Appliance Liquidation Outlet’ Mark, But No Fees Owed

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 21 partly reversed a Texas federal judge’s finding in a trademark infringement case, finding that the judge correctly held that a company’s trademark on “Appliance Liquidation Outlet” was infringed but incorrectly held that “Appliance Liquidation” is a valid mark in a dispute between competing stores.
June 24, 2024
Attorney Fees In ERISA Class Settlement Are Cut To 30% Of $6.1M Common Fund

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Granting final approval of a $6.1 million class settlement over alleged mismanagement of a retirement plan, an Alabama federal judge awarded attorney fees of $1.83 million rather than the requested $2,033,333.13.
June 24, 2024
Class Counsel Get A Third Of $6M Settlement In Case Over Bank’s Former ESOP

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Granting final approval of a $6 million settlement in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) case that the plaintiff estimated will give dozens of class members awards averaging more than $30,000, a Virginia federal judge approved paying from that total $2 million for attorney fees plus $104,186.34 for litigation costs.
June 21, 2024
Jackson Walker Says Trustee’s Request To Return Fees Not Supported By Law

HOUSTON — The U.S. trustee’s bid to have a Texas law firm return more than $400,000 in fees it was awarded for work on mediation in the asbestos bankruptcy case of Hess Corp. affiliate HONX Inc. due to a romantic relationship between one of its attorneys and the bankruptcy judge who acted as mediator should be rejected because it “it inequitably and improperly targets” the law firm, which did nothing wrong, the firm says in a response brief in a federal bankruptcy court.
June 21, 2024
Revised $195,000 Class Deal Gets Initial OK In Suit Alleging Fraudulent Policies

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Ruling various revisions sufficient, a California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $195,000 settlement in a suit over alleged fraud involving captive reinsurance, also modifying the preliminarily certified settlement class.
June 18, 2024
Claims Over Hotel’s Use Of Minors’ Photo On Instagram, Website Dismissed

LOS ANGELES — Citing issues of preemption and shotgun pleadings, a California federal judge dismissed claims of copyright infringement, unfair competition and misappropriation, among others, that were brought against a hotel for its online use of an Instagram picture of two minors that purportedly exceeded any consent granted by the copyright holder.
June 17, 2024
2 Objectors Seek High Court Review Of $2.67B Health Insurance Antitrust Settlement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two objectors who are separately challenging a $2.67 billion health insurance settlement filed replies in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to take up their appeals concerning the release of future claims and the reasonableness of the attorney fee award.
June 14, 2024
Mortgagor Seeks Roughly $61M Settlement For Lender’s ‘Junk Fees’

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A mortgagor moved in California federal court for final approval of a proposed settlement worth more than $53 million to reimburse more than 330,000 class members charged “hidden junk fees” in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and separately moved for more than $8 million in attorney fees and costs.
June 14, 2024
Nevada High Court: Investors Lack Standing; Company Allowed Attorney Fees

LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Supreme Court held that a state judge was correct to grant judgment in a case brought against a technology company by investors who say they were harmed by additional shares being issued in the wake of the company’s merger, finding that the shareholders failed to bring direct claims and lacked standing to bring derivative claims; the Supreme Court also held that the judge erred by granting presuit costs and denying attorney fees to the company and its new ownership.
June 13, 2024
Judge Approves $400K Settlement With Attorney Fees Against Gopuff Shopping App

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted final approval of a $400,000 settlement including $100,000 in attorney fees by shopping delivery company Gobrands Inc., d/b/a Gopuff, to resolve claims by Gopuff app users for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and automatic renewal law (ARL) by not obtaining users’ consent before charging them monthly recurring fees.
June 12, 2024
Panel Reinstates Trade Secret Liability Verdict, Affirms Denial Of Fees

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Allegations of patent infringement voluntarily dismissed midtrial and copyright infringement on the eve of trial were not so devoid of merit as to justify an award of attorney fees in favor of a defendant medical equipment company, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed June 11.
June 10, 2024
8th Circuit Says Use Of Copyrighted Meme Not Licensed Or Fair

ST. LOUIS — An Iowa federal jury verdict that the reelection committee for former U.S. Rep. Steve King innocently infringed a viral meme will stand, with the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 7 rejecting both positions advanced by the committee on appeal.
June 05, 2024
Attorneys Get 27% Of $20M ERISA Settlement With 2 Groups Of Class Members

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge on June 4 granted final approval of a $20 million settlement in a change in control (CIC) dispute over early retirement pension benefits and pension supplements; the settlement treats the 340 class members differently depending on whether they were terminated.
June 04, 2024
Awarding 1/3 Of $975,000 ERISA Settlement In Attorney Fees, Judge Gives Final OK

NEW YORK — In orders that didn’t specifically address the lone objection to the class resolution of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over alleged breach of the duty of prudence, a New York federal judge granted final settlement approval and awarded attorney fees totaling 33-1/3% of the $975,000 payment.
June 03, 2024
Panel Agrees Smoker’s Estate Can Seek Attorney Fees Despite Partial Reversal

TAMPA, Fla. — A Second District Florida Court of Appeal panel on June 3 granted a smoker’s estate’s unopposed motion for rehearing and provisionally granted the estate’s motion for appellate attorney fees despite previously partly reversing a verdict in its favor against a tobacco company and reducing a $15.5 million verdict to $3.5 million, finding that the estate is still possibly entitled to fees.
May 30, 2024
Judge Awards $1.4M In Fees In Libby, Mont., Asbestos Claims Fraud Case

MISSOULA, Mont. — A railway that obtained some of the relief it sought in a suit claiming that an asbestos-disease scanner in Libby, Mont., submitted false claims under a special program involving the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) may recover attorney fees, but the award must be reduced by 25% because its submission never ties the hours worked and associated rates to specific tasks, a federal judge in Montana said in awarding $1,423,936.58.
May 30, 2024
9th Circuit Denies Objections To $23M Roundup Settlement, Says Deal Is ‘Fair’

SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 29 affirmed a lower court’s decision that rejected the arguments of two individuals who objected to a $23 million settlement in a class action for false advertising related to Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, ruling that the district court did not abuse its discretion by rejecting the objectors’ argument that the nationwide class action settlement would extinguish higher-value claims in a separate class action.
May 30, 2024
Michigan Panel Affirms Judgment For Man Seeking PIP Benefits After Vehicle Hit Him

DETROIT — In consolidated appeals, a Michigan appellate court affirmed a lower court’s judgment for a pedestrian after a jury determined that the pedestrian did not make material misrepresentations in his claim for personal injury protection (PIP) benefits after he was struck by a motor vehicle, finding that though counsel for the pedestrian engaged in “improper” conduct, because the incidents were “isolated,” “reversal is not required.”
May 29, 2024
Federal Judge Dismisses Case In Which SEC Used False Info For Restraining Order

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge in Utah on May 28 dismissed without prejudice the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against several defendants it accused of using a cryptocurrency scheme to defraud investors out of at least $49 million at the SEC’s request after imposing sanctions on the SEC for using false information when applying for a temporary restraining order (TRO), telling the crypto entities that dismissing the case with prejudice would amount to an additional sanction.
May 29, 2024
Dialysis Provider’s Bid To Deny Attorney Fees Rejected In FCA Medicare Fraud Suit

BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on May 28 granted in part a relator’s request for attorney fees in a suit alleging that a dialysis provider violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by fraudulently billing Medicare and Medicaid for unnecessary hepatitis B testing, finding that the total requested hours must be reduced by 40%, in part due to the difficulty for the court to review “improper billing practices.”
May 29, 2024
Lilly Appeal Of Attorney Fees Consolidated With Others In False Claims Act Judgment

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 28 ordered that an appeal filed by Eli Lilly & Co. over a district court’s award of attorney fees and expenses be consolidated with other appeals stemming from a $193 million judgment after the company was found to have underpaid Medicare drug rebates owed to the United States.
May 28, 2024
$3.5M Settlement In ERISA Imprudence Suit Over TDFs, Another Fund Gets Initial OK

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge on May 24 granted preliminary approval of a $3.5 million class settlement to resolve retirement plan participants’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenging the use of target-date funds (TDFs) and another investment option.
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.