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

Mealey's Attorney Fees

July 09, 2025
10th Circuit Won’t Award Attorney Fees For Presuit Appeal In LTD Benefits Row

DENVER — Affirming dismissal of a case filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 8 rejected a bid to make a long-term disability (LTD) insurer pay attorney fees for an administrative appeal that got benefits reinstated.
July 09, 2025
Attorney Fees In Broiler Chicken Antitrust Case Modified, More Settlements OK’d

CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed with modification attorney fees awarded to counsel for the end user consumer plaintiff (EUCP) class in an antitrust case accusing broiler sellers of fixing the prices for chicken, opining that class counsel were entitled to 26.6% of the net common fund; the panel’s ruling was filed two days after another group of settlements between the EUCPs and a number of sellers totaling $22.35 million was granted final approval by a federal judge in Illinois.
July 07, 2025
3rd Circuit Affirms $3.2M In Attorney Fees, Costs In Wawa Data Breach Suit

PITTSBURGH — Assessing a trial court judge’s review on remand of a $3.2 million attorney fees and costs award to consumers’ class counsel in a class action over Wawa Inc.’s 2019 data breach, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld the judge’s finding that the award did not contain a clear sailing agreement and was not the result of collusion.
June 30, 2025
Judge Enters Injunction In Penn State Trademark Case, Denies Attorney Fees

HARRISBURG, Pa. — After a jury found in favor of The Pennsylvania State University on its trademark claims against an apparel maker, a Pennsylvania federal judge issued a permanent injunction against the clothier barring it from using the university’s trademarked logos or phrases on apparel items.
June 30, 2025
Ex-Congressman Seeks High Court Review In Attorney Fee Spat Over Precedent Clash

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former congressman filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that affirmed a district court’s ruling that granted defendants $740,710 in attorney fees in a case that hinged on allegations of harassment and defamation; the former congressman argues that the 11th Circuit erred in upholding the lower court decision by contravening federal statutes, disregarding a doctrine that mandates the application of state substantive law and federal procedural law in diversity cases and contrasting precedents established by the Florida Supreme Court.
June 26, 2025
Montana High Court Affirms Verdict In Home Sale Case, Remands For Fee Sanction

HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court has affirmed a $73,900 special verdict in a case involving the alleged sale of a home belonging to a developmentally disabled man, but the high court remanded the case for the awarding of full costs and attorney fees as a sanction for defending against an original complaint that the plaintiff dropped on the eve of trial.
June 26, 2025
$45 Million Settlement Of Suits Over MGM Data Breaches Gets Final Approval

LAS VEGAS — A $45 million settlement of a consolidated class action against MGM Resorts International over two data breach incidents that provides for payments of up to $15,000 in documented losses for class members was declared “fundamentally fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class” by a Nevada federal judge, as she granted final approval to the agreement.
June 26, 2025
Nebraska High Court Affirms Default Judgment, Attorney Fee Sanctions In Fraud Row

LINCOLN, Neb. — Noting a trial court’s finding that a group of parties accused of fraud engaged in “repeated discovery violations” and “inexcusable recalcitrance,” the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld an award of more than $2 million in default judgment for the plaintiff-appellees, as well as an attorney fees award exceeding $180,000.
June 25, 2025
Judge Issues Final Approval Order For $69M Settlement Of Target Date Funds Case

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge on June 24 entered final approval and awards orders in a case concluded by a $69 million deal that the class representative called “the largest-ever ERISA settlement alleging breach of fiduciary duty for failure to remove underperforming investment options.”
June 25, 2025
1st Circuit Partly Reverses Ruling In Coverage Suit Over Hurricane Maria Damage

BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower federal court’s denial of an insurer’s postverdict motion to reduce a jury’s $873,000 contractual damages award and to set aside a jury’s $250,000 consequential damages award in a Hurricane Maria coverage dispute and affirmed the lower court’s denial of the insured’s postverdict motion for attorney fees and prejudgment interest.
June 24, 2025
In Mixed Ruling, 9th Circuit Approves Denial Of Coverage For Wilderness Program

SAN FRANCISCO — In an unpublished June 23 memorandum disposition issuing a mixed ruling in a mental health and substance use coverage dispute, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said that coverage for a wilderness program was properly denied; that coverage for residential treatment was not properly denied but the correct remedy is reprocessing because factual disputes remain; and that an award of nearly $50,000 for attorney fees and costs can’t stand because it was based on determinations that the appellate court reversed.
June 20, 2025
7th Circuit Affirms Defense Verdict, No Attorney Fees In Mining Contract Case

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed a defense verdict in a mining breach of contract case and also agreed that based on the fee-shifting language in the parties’ contract, the defendant is not due attorney fees.
June 20, 2025
Split 9th Circuit Says Walmart Infringed On Artist’s Lamps, Not Photos

SAN FRANCISCO — A partially split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued a mixed opinion in a copyright dispute between an artist and Walmart Inc., with the majority holding that the company infringed on the artist’s copyrighted lamp designs by selling imitations but reversing a California federal jury’s finding that Walmart infringed on the artist’s copyrighted photos of the lamps.
June 20, 2025
South Dakota High Court Remands Lien Case For Award Of Attorney Fees

PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Supreme Court has reversed a trial court’s denial of attorney fees in a mason’s mechanic’s lien case and remanded the issue for reconsideration of the prevailing party’s attorney fee motion.
June 19, 2025
$7.5 Million Settlement Of Digital Pharmacy Data Breach Class Action Approved

OAKLAND, Calif. — Almost seven months after preliminarily approving a $7.5 million settlement of a class action over a 2023 data breach experienced by PostMeds Inc., a California federal judge made his approval final, granting a motion by the plaintiffs in the consolidated lawsuit, while also giving his thumbs up to requests for attorney fees, costs and service awards.
June 19, 2025
Attorney Fees, Costs Awarded In Acura Bluetooth Settlement As Honda Appeals

OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California issued final approval order and judgment after a settlement was reached between consumers in four states and American Honda Motor Co. Inc. in a class case alleging defective HandsFreeLink (HFL) Bluetooth systems in certain Acura vehicles that cause excessive electric drain, approving more than $9.5 million in attorney fees and costs while the total value of claims is estimated to be less than $540,000.
June 17, 2025
Split West Virginia Court Reverses Ruling On Insurer’s Setoff In Fire Coverage Row

CHARLESTON, W. Va. — In a dispute over fire damage coverage regarding alleged arson and fraud, a split West Virginia appellate court reversed and remanded a lower court’s ruling that denied the homeowners insurer with a setoff for contractual damages by the amount paid by the insurer to satisfy the homeowners’ mortgage, finding that the insurer preserved its right for a setoff.
June 17, 2025
$5.25 Million Settlement Approved In Recruiter Misclassification Class Case

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a $5.25 million nonreversionary class settlement in a lawsuit alleging systemic misclassification of recruiters as exempt employees and granted in part a motion for attorney fees, costs and a service award.
June 17, 2025
Nevada Supreme Court Affirms Accounting Malpractice Ruling, Defense Attorney Fees

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court has affirmed trial court rulings that an accounting firm’s client’s malpractice claim was time-barred and that the accounting firm was properly granted attorney fees due to the client’s rejection of a settlement offer.
June 17, 2025
5th Circuit Affirms Attorney Fee Rulings In Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a Texas federal bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in awarding general counsel its fee request or in approving a modified flat fee request by special appellate counsel in a pro se debtor’s Chapter 7 case.
June 16, 2025
Nevada High Court Affirms Attorney Fee Awards To Firm That Took Over Case

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court has affirmed and the imposition of $268,675 in attorney fees and costs to the law firm that eventually took over and settled a personal injury, finding that the court did not abuse its discretion in awarding fees to the firm as the prevailing party.
June 13, 2025
ERISA Suit Over Allegedly Underperforming Target Date Funds Settles For $69M

MINNEAPOLIS — A $69 million deal that the class representative called “the largest-ever ERISA settlement alleging breach of fiduciary duty for failure to remove underperforming investment options” has been granted final approval, a text-only June 13 docket entry in Minnesota federal court shows.
June 13, 2025
Attorney Fees Presumed For ‘Right To Know’ Claimants, Montana Supreme Court Says

HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court vacated and remanded a lower court’s denial of attorney fees to an environmental nonprofit, holding in a divided ruling that citizens who successfully assert their constitutional “right to know” are entitled to a presumption toward an award of litigation costs and fees.
June 12, 2025
Data Breach Class Action Against Biotech Firm Settles For $7.5 Million

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Four months after preliminarily approving a $7.5 million settlement of a consolidated class action over a 2023 data breach experienced by a biotech firm, a New York federal magistrate judge granted final approval to the settlement, which provides for up to $10,000 in out-of-pocket reimbursements for class members.
June 12, 2025
Judge Adopts Recommendation To Award GEICO Attorney Fees In No-Fault Fraud Dispute

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal judge adopted in full a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation advising that the court grant GEICO’s motion for attorney fees in a case where the court previously entered a $690,251.44 judgment for the insurer in its suit against a health care clinic and related parties for allegedly submitting fraudulent no-fault insurance charges.