Cases: Common Fund – Page 2 – Cal Attorneys Fees

Common Fund, Equity, Section 998: Winning Plaintiffs Not Entitled To Reduction From Settlements For Fees Incurred In Reaching Settlements Under Common Fund Theory

June 1, 2016

Setoff Language Of CCP § 877 Also Supported Result. Tuttle v. Ukiah Adventist Hospital, Case No. A144759 (1st Dist., Div. 1 May 31, 2016) (unpublished) was an uncontested slip-and-fall case from a liability perspective, with plaintiffs obtaining several pre-trial settlements but eventually winning a jury verdict as to one non-settling defendant, with set-off […]

Common Fund Decision Update: California Supreme Court Denies Review In Walker v. City of San Clemente

Cases: Common Fund

December 25, 2015

$1.5 Million Fee Recovery To Plaintiff Held Up, With City’s Petition For Review Being Denied. On August 28, 2015, we posted on Walker v. City of San Clemente, a Fourth District, Division 3 unpublished decision sustaining a $10.5 million refund judgment against City under the Mitigation Fee Act and also upholding a $1.5

In The News . . . . Class Counsel Garners $74 Million Fees/Costs In JP Morgan Chase Mortgage-Backed Securities Settlement And Eleventh Circuit Decision Holds Percentage-Of-Fund Analysis Applies To Claims-Made Class Action Settlement Regardless Of Actual P

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Common Fund, In The News

December 7, 2015

Class Counsel Asked For $100.8 Million In Fees/Expenses But Were Awarded “Only” $74 Million. On December 4, 2015, a New York federal district judge awarded class counsel in the JP Morgan Chase mortgage-backed securities class action about $74 million in fees and costs based on a $388 million settlement. This was less than

Class Action, Common Fund, and Lodestar: Court Of Appeal Affirms Judgment Awarding Plaintiffs’ Attorneys 37.5 Percent Of Settlement Fund

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Common Fund, Cases: Lodestar

November 13, 2015

High Percentage Of Common Fund That Is Much Lower Than Lodestar Is Reasonable Way To Calculate Fee Award In Class Action. A fee award to plaintiffs’ attorneys of 37.5% of the settlement fund may seem generous. Indeed, it seemed too generous to objectors in Roos v. Honeywell International and Rogers, A142156 (1/1 Nov.

Common Fund: City Had No Standing To Appeal Plaintiffs’ $1.5 Million Fee Award Out Of $10.5 Million Common Fund Judgment

Cases: Common Fund

August 28, 2015

City Was Not Aggrieved So As To Have Appellate Standing. In Walker v. City of San Clemente, Case No. G050987 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 28, 2015) (unpublished), plaintiffs successfully obtained a refund from San Clemente of about $10.5 million in unexpended development fees to property owners on which the City had imposed unwarranted

Common Fund/In The News . . . . District Judge Had Jurisdiction To Enforce Contract Between California Firm And Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee In MDL Phases

Cases: Common Fund, In The News

July 26, 2015

7% Payment For Use Of Steering Committee’s Work Product Was Proper, Covering Both California State Cases And Other Federal Cases. In re Avandia Marketing, Sales Practices & Product Liab. Litig., No. 14-2980 (3d Cir. July 2, 2015) (not precedential) involved a dispute between California firm Girardi Keese (GK) and an MDL Plaintiffs’ Steering

Common Fund/Probate: Former Trustee Obtaining Appointment Of Neutral Corporate Trustee And Distributions Of Benefits To Younger Generation Beneficiaries Were Entitled To Recovery Of $260,948.34 From Trust Under Common Fund Theory

Cases: Common Fund, Cases: Probate

November 21, 2014

Actions Resulted in Younger Generations Getting $1 Million in Distributions Where Prior Distributions Only Went To Senior Generation Beneficiaries. Neither the lower nor appellate courts in Gaynor v. Bulen, Case No. D064872 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 20, 2014) (unpublished) had much trouble with awarding certain former trustees of a trust attorney’s fees

Class Action/Common Fund: $6.33 Million Fee Award In Wage/Hour Class Action Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Common Fund

November 7, 2014

Fee Award Was One-Third of $19 Million Settlement Common Fund, With Percentage Of Recovery Being Acceptable Method Of Recovery In Common Fund Cases. In Laffitte v. Robert Half International Inc., Case No. B249253 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Oct. 29, 2014) (unpublished), a $19 million class action settlement was approved in a tricky wage/hour

Common Fund/Deadlines/Probate: Trust Beneficiaries Seeking Fees Under Common Fund Doctrine Should Have Been Allowed Something

Cases: Common Fund, Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Probate

July 2, 2014

CRC Rules on Filing Fee Motions Did Not Govern Probate Proceedings. The overall, convoluted probate dispute in Sheen v. Sheen, Case No. B243847 (2d Dist., Div. 8 July 1, 2014) (unpublished)—although colorful—does not involve extended discussion on the facts, although the appellate court did reverse lower court failures to award attorney’s fees to beneficiaries given

Class Action/Common Fund: Reasoning By N.D. California District Judge Might Aid State Court Practitioners Arguing Percentage Of Fund, Rather Than Lodestar, Should Be The Approach In Common Fund Cases Even At The State Level

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Common Fund

April 20, 2014

Around $13.25 Million, 25% Of $53 Million Settlement Fund (After Deducting Class Action Administration Expenses), Is Awarded To Class Counsel. Generally, California uses the lodestar as the fee-setting approach in the class action context, “cross-checked” by the percentage of recovery approach. However, reasoning by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in his fee award