Cases: Class Actions

Class Actions, In The News . . . . Central District California District Judge Rejects Plaintiffs’ Counsel Request For Enhanced Fee Award In Kia/Hyundai Fuel Efficiency MDL Case

Cases: Class Actions, In The News

  $2.8 Million Fees Deemed Enough.      As recently reported in the media, a Central District of California district judge nixed class counsel’s request for an enhanced fee recovery in the KIA/Hyundai fuel efficiency MDL case. Instead, he awarded $2.8 million, but nixed a request for $6 million more on a multiplier basis.

Class Actions, In The News: Central District California District Judge Only Awards Class Counsel $11,000 Out Of Requested $1.9 Million In Fees

Cases: Class Actions, In The News

  Inflated Requests and Unnecessary Work Efforts Predominated, With District Judge Not Sure Defense Work Was Probative To Combat Unnecessary Plaintiff Work As Far As Gauging Reasonableness Of Plaintiffs’ Fee Request.     Although we are only going on media reports, U.S. District Judge George H. Wu of the Central District of California in Red, et

Class Actions: Empirical Study Of 2007-2012 Of Fee Recoveries In Settled Federal Securities Class Action Cases Yields Some Interesting Findings

Cases: Class Actions

  Study Will Be Published In Upcoming 2015 Edition of Columbia Law Review.      Law professors Lynn Baker, Charles Silver, and Michael Perino will soon be publishing an article, “Is The Price Right?: An Empirical Study Of Fee-Shifting In Securities Class Actions,” in an upcoming edition of the Columbia Law Review. The article is based

In the News . . . . N.D. Cal. District Judge Informs Class Counsel In Wells Fargo Overdraft Class Action That Fees Cannot Be Based On Subjective Evidence

Cases: Class Actions, In The News

  Also Indicates That Defense Counsel Billings Will Not Remain Sealed Forever.      In Gutierrez v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Case No. 07-05923 WHA (N.D. Cal.), U.S. District Judge William Alsup recently ruled on March 27, 2015 that class counsel in the Wells Fargo overdraft class action—who won a $203 million restitutionary judgment—must support their

Class Action: 25% Of Settlement Fund Fee Recovery Justified In Class Action Where Cash and Gift Card Value Of $27.25 Million Was Involved

Cases: Class Actions

  Components of Settlement Fund Considered By District Court, Fee Petition Notice, and Fee Award Explanation All Sound In Nature.      In In re Online DVD-Rental Antitrust Litig., Nos. 12-15705 et al. (9th Cir. Feb. 27, 2015) (published), the Ninth Circuit considered, among other issues, the propriety of a 25% of settlement fund fee award

Class Action: Trial Court Erred In Discounting Class Counsel Fee Recovery For Limited Success In Unruh Act Class Action Based On Mathematical Formula

Cases: Class Actions

  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

Class Action: Trial Court Did Not Abuse Discretion By Basing Class Counsel Fee Award On Work Effort/Hourly Work By Class Counsel In Prior Case

Cases: Class Actions

  No Abuse of Discretion to Only Award $297,700 Out of Requested $584,055.46-$607,308 Fee Request.      Nguyen v. Wells Fargo & Co., Case No. B256375 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Jan. 6, 2014) (unpublished) is an interesting class action fee case, given that it basically affirms a trial judge’s decision to base a fee award in

Class Action: $11 Million Class Counsel Fee Recovery Affirmed Where Total Claims Being Actually Made Exceeded $49 Million

Cases: Class Actions

  “Clear Sailing” Settlement Provisions Not Per Se Invalid Under State Law.      Computer Service Tax Cases, Case No. A139445 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 10, 2014) (unpublished) is a class action settlement appeal where 200,000 claims were filed resulting in claims to recover tax refunds of around $49.1 million. The lower court granted class

In The News . . . . Seventh Circuit Reverses Nearly $2 Million Fee Award Where Class Distributions Only Came To $865,284

Cases: Class Actions, In The News

  Circuit Judge Posner Disturbed With Valuation, Reversion (“Kicker”) Clauses, And Convoluted Claim Forms.      Circuit Judge Posner, on behalf of a 3-0 panel, authored an opinion in Pearson v. NBTY, Inc., Nos. 14-1198 et seq. (7th Cir. Nov. 19, 2014) in which a class action fee award was scuttled because it was too high—finding

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