Mealey's Attorney Fees : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Attorney Fees

October 01, 2024
Certification For Appeal Of Interim Attorney Fees Denied In Clean Water Act Case

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge in California in a docket entry denied a request by two cities for reconsideration of interim attorney fees and for certification of the fee order as final but stayed until October enforcement of the order that granted fees to an environmental organization that sued the cities under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging bacteria pollution from stormwater sewer systems.
October 01, 2024
More Than $17.3M In Attorney Fees Awarded After Royalty Class Settlement

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A federal judge in Oklahoma granted a renewed motion for $17,333,333 in attorney fees in an oil and gas royalty payments class lawsuit that has gone on for more than a dozen years and that was settled for $52 million, finding that the requested fees were “reasonable” and opining that distribution of the “fees among class counsel is a matter within their sole discretion.”
September 30, 2024
E-Cig MDL Plaintiffs Seek Fees After Altria Settles Tribal Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — The last remaining claims in a California federal court multidistrict litigation against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and its subsidiaries have been settled, according to a Sept. 27 filing by the plaintiffs’ fee committee asking the court to approve fees and costs of roughly $1.2 million in connection with the settlement of Indian tribes’ claims against Altria.
September 30, 2024
Man Appeals Approval Of $600M Ohio Train Deal, As Judge Grants Fee Award

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — One of the plaintiffs opposing the $600 million settlement in the litigation against Norfolk Southern Corp. over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil on Sept. 27 filed a one-page notice of appeal with the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after the Ohio federal judge presiding over the case issued an order granting final approval to the deal on the same day. In a separate order, the judge granted attorney fees of $162 million.
September 27, 2024
Farmers, USDA Spar Over Decision Regulators Made On Remand Of Crop Insurance Row

BAY CITY, Mich. — Farmers and federal regulators are again sparring in a Michigan federal court over a crop insurance dispute involving a dry-bean revenue endorsement (DBRE), with issues of contention now including whether the court retains jurisdiction after having awarded attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) and whether regulators followed the court’s directions on remand.
September 25, 2024
Plaintiffs Defend $162M In Fees For Train Case, Oppose Attorneys’ Bid For A Cut

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The plaintiffs in the litigation over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have filed a reply brief in Ohio federal court arguing that it should approve their motion for $162 million in attorney fees, reimbursement of $18 million in litigation costs incurred by class counsel and service awards of $15,000 to each class representative because “the settlement has been a success by all measures, as demonstrated by its extraordinary participation rate.” They also argue that attorneys who seek a contingency fee arrangement are “misguided.”
September 25, 2024
Judge: Man Owes Millions For Using American Airlines Marks In Hiring Grift

MIAMI — A man accused by American Airlines Inc. of trademark and copyright infringement for using the company’s intellectual property while allegedly running a scheme to trick job applicants into paying for fake background checks owes the company more than $3 million in damages and attorney fees, a federal judge in Florida held after granting summary judgment to the airline on most of its claims.
September 24, 2024
Judge Awards Singaporean Company $124K In Attorney Fees For Ghanaian Turbine Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Sept. 23 granted in part a Singaporean company’s motion for attorney fees after previously entering a default judgment of more than $113 million against the Republic of Ghana for abruptly terminating the company’s gas turbine contract.
September 20, 2024
Tribunal Finds No Jurisdiction Over Oil Rig Investors’ Claims Against Mexico

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Sept. 19 published a tribunal’s award rejecting jurisdiction over U.S. oil rig investors’ $270 million North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) claim against Mexico for allegedly driving their investment into bankruptcy, but awarded Mexico no attorney fees due to its “procedural misconduct” during the document production phase.
September 20, 2024
Judge Gives $3M Securities Class Settlement Final OK, Lowers Attorney Fee

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted final approval of a $3 million settlement of a suit over alleged violation of federal securities laws but, without specific explanation, awarded class counsel about $44,000 less than the $1 million attorney fee requested.
September 19, 2024
California Appeals Court: Contractor Can’t Escape Attorney Fees For Homeowners

SAN FRANCISCO — A California appeals court held that the president of a construction company is liable for more than $94,000 in attorney fees and costs in a home construction breach-of-contract suit because he stood in the shoes of the company when he signed a contract and later filed a complaint against the homeowners.
September 19, 2024
5th Circuit Agrees Art Education Company Did Not Infringe On Artist’s Work

NEW ORLEANS — A Texas federal judge rightly held that that a company selling art kits to students during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic did not infringe on an artist’s work by basing elements of the product on a series of dog paintings, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 18, determining that the fair use defense applied.
September 19, 2024
Split Hawaii High Court Vacates Attorney Fees In Attorney, Client Spat

HONOLULU — A divided Hawaii Supreme Court partially vacated an appellate panel’s ruling that it found affirmed attorney fees for an attorney and law firm accused by a former client of breach of contract and other duties to represent in a separate case, opining that affirming attorney fees while vacating a summary judgment ruling for the attorney and firm was inconsistent with Ass’n of Owners of Kalele Kai v. Yoshikawa.
September 19, 2024
Class Counsel Get A Third Of $7.5M Settlement In ERISA Proprietary Trusts Row

FLORENCE, S.C. — A $7.5 million global class settlement in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over a retirement plan’s use of proprietary collective investment trusts (CITs) has been granted final approval, with a South Carolina federal judge awarding $2.5 million of the settlement for attorney fees, $100,000 for service awards and $659,240.95 for litigation expenses.
September 19, 2024
Sending Google Settlement Funds To Only Cy Pres Groups ‘Legal Error,’ Objectors Say

SAN FRANCISCO — Approval of a plan to distribute most of a $62 million settlement in a consolidated class action over Google Inc.’s collection of users’ location data to cy pres organizations while class members receive nothing runs afoul of a revised rule of federal procedure, warranting reversal and remand, three settlement objectors tell the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in their opening brief.
September 18, 2024
Status Conference Sought In Arbitration Awards Row In Reinsurance Dispute

NEW YORK — Months after briefing concluded on pending cross-petitions in an arbitration awards dispute involving attorney fees and whether there was a probability or a possibility of an excess judgment in the underlying case, a reinsurer on Sept. 17 asked a New York federal court for “a status conference to determine whether the parties may supply the Court with any additional materials to resolve this cross-petition.”
September 18, 2024
Appeal Filed, Attorney Fee Bid Contested In Suit Over Missouri’s ESG Factor Rules

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri state officials have filed a notice of appeal regarding a ruling that imposed a statewide permanent injunction barring enforcement of parts of two new rules a trade association said would have required “a state-authored script” for “incorporating a social or nonfinancial objective into investment advice.”
September 13, 2024
Attorney Fees Judgment Stayed In Jack In The Box Workers’ Wage Suit

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge in Oregon in a docket entry granted an unopposed motion by Jack in the Box Inc. to approve a supersedeas bond and stay the enforcement of judgment for attorney fees in a wage-and-hour suit by workers pending resolution of post-trial motions and appeal.
September 13, 2024
Judge Denies Motion To Reconsider Rehab Plan For Workers’ Comp Insurer

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Denying a motion that sought coverage of certain litigation costs for policyholders and a higher interest rate, a California state judge declined to reconsider her ruling approving a rehabilitation plan for California Insurance Co. (CIC), saying she “previously heard and considered these grounds.”
September 12, 2024
Government To U.S. High Court: Let EAJA Fee Denial In ESOP Challenge Stand

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Opposing a certiorari petition that is supported by two amicus curiae briefs, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) told the U.S. Supreme Court that denial of an Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) request for attorney fees and nontaxable costs in an unsuccessful challenge to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) deal is a “factbound determination” that “is correct and does not conflict with any decision of this Court or of any other court of appeals.”
September 11, 2024
After ERISA 401(k) Win, Defendants Seek Awards Totaling $222,275

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Defendants who won on all claims after a bench trial in a consolidated Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over 401(k) fees and funds have asked a California federal court to award them $10,000 in attorney fees from each of the three named plaintiffs and $192,275.32 in attorney fees and expert expenses from class counsel.
September 11, 2024
11th Circuit: Real Estate Company Not ‘Prevailing Party’ In Copyright Case

ATLANTA — A Florida federal judge was correct to deny attorney fees to a real estate company accused by a photography company of infringing a photo’s copyright, a panel of judges in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held in an unpublished opinion, saying that the real estate firm is not the “prevailing party” as defined by the Copyright Act because the photography studio voluntarily dismissed its claims.
September 10, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek $162M In Attorney Fees For Ohio Train Derailment Settlement

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The plaintiffs in the litigation over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have moved in Ohio federal court for $162 million in attorney fees, reimbursement of $18 million in litigation costs incurred by class counsel and service awards of $15,000 to each class representative.
September 10, 2024
Hunter Biden Wins Attorney Fees From Laptop Files Poster

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Sept. 9 granted Hunter Biden’s motion for attorney fees against a conservative activist and his organization, whom Biden accuses of violating computer fraud laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by posting data from his private laptop online, finding that Biden is entitled to fees incurred defending against a frivolous motion to strike pursuant to California’s anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) law.
September 10, 2024
Class Counsel Get A Third Of $11.8M ERISA Settlement In Retirement Plan Case

BALTIMORE — A Maryland federal judge granted final approval to an $11.8 million class settlement that the named plaintiff who challenged management of a Maryland health system 403(b) retirement plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act said “provides for average relief of $481 to Class Members,” also overruling the lone objection to awarding $3,933,333.33 for attorney fees.