Zurich Financial Agrees to Class Action Settlement—With $90 Million Going to the Attorneys, Potentially.
As reported by Carolyn Bandel in an October 7, 2010 post at Bloomberg’s businessweek.com, Zurich Financial Services, AG, Switzerland’s largest insurer, has agreed to settle a class action pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court for $455 million, with a potential maximum of $90 million going in attorney’s fees to the class action attorneys if the settlement is approved.
The case arose from Zurich inheriting Farmers Group Inc. and involved claims about the challenged management services paid by the Farmers Exchange to Farmers Group. In settling, it was reported that Zurich said it might have difficulty producing documents necessary to defend itself in the L.A. class action.
Attorneys for Building a Better Redondo Will Be Seeking $355K in Fees in Measure G Action.
Building a Better Redondo successfully sued the City of Redondo Beach to force harbor zoning onto the upcoming November ballot as Measure G. BBR was represented by Angel Law, which had some support on the City Council.
Now, Angel Law has filed a motion seeking to recover $355,000 in legal fees from the City of Redondo Beach, most likely under California’s private attorney general statute.
That has prompted an uproar by other council members, but Angel Law defended its fees as necessary given the resources they had to devote to the case. More details can be gleaned from Mark McDermott’s October 6, 2010 post on easyreadernews.com.