Court Rules in 5 –2 Decision that 1975 Statutory Reforms to Class Actions in NY Allow Fees Only to Class Representative. This next one is a bit off our beat, since it involves NY law, but we think it will be of interest to class action attorneys. New York’s highest court has ruled, in
Declaratory Relief Action Denial Reversed re Class Action Fee Distribution. In Carder v. Patten, Faith & Sandford, Case No. B221940 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Oct. 12, 2010) (certified for publication), the appellate court reversed judgment entered against a plaintiff class action lawyer in a declaratory relief action he brought against other class action co-counsel
U.S. District Judge Real Awards this Amount for Over 3 Years of Work. If you have read our “In the News” category (which you can search at our home page by using the search function on the left hand side), you know we have reported on McGuireWoods efforts to recover legal fees as
Appellate Division Held Objector Not Entitled to Fees. Though we do not venture out of California often, we do report on an interesting case that was just argued in the class action area in front of the New York Court of Appeals (which, for those of you unfamiliar with the New York system,
No Bright-Line Rule Is Set, But Timing of Motions Must Take into Account Timing of Objections to Actual Fee Request Submissions on Due Process Grounds. This next case should be of keen interest to class action practitioners. The Ninth Circuit, in In re Mercury Interactive Corp. Sec. Litig., Case No. 08-17372 (9th
Fourth District, Division 1 So Rules, Assuming 998 Offers Are Valid in a Certified Class Situation. Nelson v. Pearson Ford Co., Case No. D054369 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 15, 2010) (certified for publication) is an interesting decision where significant fees were awarded in a class action involving a California consumer-shifting fee statute. However,
Second District, Division 2 Finds No Higher Award is Warranted. In Knik v. Marriott International, Inc., Case No. B220529 (2d Dist., Div. 2 July 14, 2010) (unpublished), plaintiff’s attorneys in a wage/hour class action obtained an award of $93,161 in attorney’s fees in a case where the gross settlement amount was $700,000. They wanted
USDJ Chooses Lodestar in Wage/Hour Class Action Fee Recovery Settlement. Our friend and fellow blogger H. Scott Leviant has reported on Anderson v. Nextel Retail Stores in his June 30, 2010 post at The Complex Litigator website. There, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson, in a common fund wage/hour class action settlement, chose the
O’Melveny and Western Center on Law & Poverty Reap Award, With O’Melveny Donating a Portion to Non-Profit Causes. O’Melveny & Myers LLP and the Western Center on Law & Poverty teamed up to prosecute a class action against Orange County’s Social Services Agency with respect to more expeditious processing and approval of food stamp
Court of Appeal Also Decides Prejudgment Interest Not Allowable on Fee Awards. Okay, so who says we don’t try to give you readers a synopsis of decisions (even though some might be a little wordy)? The next decision—Woosley v. State of California, Case No. B209890 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Apr. 16, 2010) (unpublished)—involves some
