Lower Court Award of $5 Million Out of Requested $16 Million Remanded.
Jones v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Case No, B243333 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Feb. 17, 2015) (unpublished) involved a trial court’s substantial reduction of requested fees by class counsel in an Unruh Act case involving alleged discrimination in making loans by loan officers vis-à-vis minority borrowers. Class counsel sought a little under $16 million in fees (based on a 1.3 multiplier), but the trial court awarded only about $5 million after a jury verdict in favor of plaintiffs for $3.2 million.
Both sides appealed the fees award, but plaintiffs got a reversal and remand.
The principal reason for the remand was that the trial court erred in discounting too much on the “limited success” factor. The lower court actually gave a negative .4 discount even though acknowledging the great result and trial skill of class counsel. On appeal, the appellate court determined that the trial court’s limited success analysis—based on a numerical loan approach—was way too mathematical in nature, not factoring in the number of hours spent by class counsel, counsel’s excellent trial skills, and the contingency risks borne by class counsel. For these reasons, the fee award had to be reversed and remanded for a “re-do.”
BLOG UNDERVIEW—Barry Cappello and Leila Noel were among the winning class counsel below and on appeal. Co-contributor Mike was involved in a civil case with these attorneys, eventually resulting in a negotiated settlement. Also, Norm Pine—one of the appellate attorneys on the winning side—was involved in merits U.S. Supreme Court briefing on a procedural jurisdictional case in which both co-contributors Mike and Marc were involved. Congratulations to Barry, Leila, and Norm on a nice win on appeal as far as the fee award was concerned.