$19 Million in Fee Spent in McCourt’s Divorce.
Frank McCourt has estimated his divorce-related expenses at $5-$10 million, while Jamie McCourt has estimated her expenses as $9 million (with Jamie asking Frank to pay them), all in the on-going and apparently acrimonious divorce proceeding between Los Angeles Dodger owner Frank and former officer Jamie.
In an article “High cost of McCourts’ divorce: $19 million in fees” posted by Bill Shaikin on March 5, 2010’s Los Angeles Times Website, several family law experts said they could not recall a divorce costing $19 million. One expert estimated a total cost of $5 million as being “consistent with high-profile” divorce cases. The article indicated that divorce lawyers generally charge from $250 to $750 per hour in the Southland. In comparison, the Britney Spears-Kevin Federline divorce cost $835,000, and former NFL quarterback Berne Kosar spent more than $4 million on attorney’s fees in his divorce.
The $19 million in fees is more than the Dodgers will spend on their starting infield this season, according to Mr. Shaikin’s article.
Mercedes-Benz Hit With Large “Lemon Law” Judgment by Wisconsin Judge.
A Wisconsin judge has ordered Mercedes-Benz USA LLC to pay $482,000 in damages and legal fees to a Wisconsin customer who was sold a defective car and not given a timely refund under Wisconsin’s stringent “lemon law.” The judgment broke down to $168,000 in damages plus $314,000 in costs and legal fees for plaintiff’s lawyers. For more information on this case, see Ryan J. Foley’s March 5, 2010 article.
Schering-Plough/Merck Merger Class Action Settles, With All The Money Going To Pay Class Counsel’s Fees.
As reported in Charles Toutant’s article “Shareholders Cry Conflict of Counsel in Class Action Over Merck Merger” (posted March 8, 2010 on Law.com), some class members are not happy about a settlement in the Shering-Plough/Merck merger class action in which all the money (about $3.5 million) goes to class counsel rather than providing any monetary recovery to shareholders. Objectors cite this result as a reason tort reform is being called for, while class counsel says the objection is “entirely devoid of merit.”
