Class Counsel Had Asked For $284.4 Million In Requested Fees, With Court Granting $186.5 Million In Fees, Plus Being Able To Add Actual Payments To Foreign Attorneys In Supplemental Expense Request.
In In re Petrobras Sec. Litig., No. 14-cv-9662-JSR (S.D.N.Y. June 25, 2018) (Doc. No. 834), U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff granted final approval to a $3 billion settlement in a hard-fought securities action. Class counsel then requested fees of $284.4 million and reimbursement of $14,515,235.54 in litigation expenses.
The district court, instead, awarded class counsel $186.5 million in fees and the full litigation expense request, with some interesting analysis of how the one-third reduction was reached.
Class counsel claimed a lodestar of $159 million, but the district court had the defense scrutinize these submissions based on its professionalism throughout the case. He made these reductions:
- He found that requested fees of $27.5 million for 27 foreign attorneys was unreasonable, because they cannot reasonably bill at U.S.-attorneys’ rates for the work; however, he did allow the actual payments made to these attorneys to be claimed as supplemental expenses down the line;
- He found that the requested $89.4 million for staff and contract attorneys was too high, reducing the claim 20% (but not adopting the $200 hourly cap suggested by some objectors); and
- He reduced the specific document translation work claimed by staff and contract attorneys in downward 50% fashion.
Once these reductions were made, the adjusted lodestar went down to $104.8 million. District Judge Rakoff decided that a 1.78 multiplier was appropriate, but not the 2.7 number suggested by class counsel. He did grant the full litigation expense request, plus the actual amount paid to the 27 foreign attorneys. Finally, he decided that 50% of the fee award should be paid now, and 50% after the class distribution process was completed.