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

Mealey's Attorney Fees

May 16, 2024
Reinsurer’s $3.2M Appeal Bond Is Approved In Breach Of Contract Dispute

DALLAS — After entering an amended final judgment against a reinsurer for $2,866,423.97, including attorney fees and interest, a Texas federal magistrate judge granted the reinsurer’s unopposed motion for approval of a $3.2 million appeal bond and to stay execution and enforcement of the judgment pending resolution of its appeal.
May 16, 2024
Attorney Fees, Partial Service Awards Granted After $10.5M Thread Count Settlement

CINCINNATI — A federal judge in Ohio awarded class counsel $3.5 million in attorney fees and more than $200,000 in expenses for representing consumers who settled claims with a department store over sheet thread counts for $10.5 million and partially awarded the requested incentive payments for the named plaintiffs, citing Internal Improvement Fund Trustees v. Greenough, one of the cases pointed to by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals when it ruled in Johnson v. NPAS Sol’ns, LLC that class representatives are precluded from receiving personal compensation from the settlement fund.
May 15, 2024
Medical Debt Collection Class Complaint Settlement Provides $4,000 Class Relief

HAMMOND, Ind. — A federal judge in Indiana approved a class settlement in a health care debt Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuit against a law firm and partner that provides $4,000 in recovery to the class, $1,000 the class representative and $14,000 for attorney fees and costs.
May 15, 2024
Reinsurer Seeks Approval Of $3.2M Appeal Bond In Breach Of Contract Dispute

DALLAS — After entry of an amended final judgment against it for $2,866,423.97, including attorney fees and interest, a reinsurer filed a notice of appeal and an unopposed motion for approval of a $3.2 million appeal bond and to stay execution and enforcement of the judgment.
May 15, 2024
Insurance Commissioner Seeks Approval Of Expenses Regarding Liquidated Insurer

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma insurance commissioner, as receiver for a property and casualty insurer in liquidation, filed in Oklahoma state court an application to approve costs and fees related to the administration for the receivership of Go Insurance, which the court previously ordered into liquidation.
May 15, 2024
Re-Awarded Attorney Fees Vacated Due To No Notice In Royalty Class Case

DENVER — A split 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated re-awarded attorney fees following the approval of a $52 million oil and gas royalty payments class settlement, finding that the class did not receive notice of the renewed motion as required under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(h)(1); however, the panel affirmed a $232,440 incentive payment for class representative Chieftain Royalty Co.
May 14, 2024
11th Circuit Vacates Class Settlement, Attorney Fees In GoDaddy TCPA Suit

ATLANTA — A trial court abused its discretion when it approved a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) settlement between a class and GoDaddy.com LLC providing cash or vouchers as it failed to consider amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e)(2), overlooked evidence that the agreement was reached through collusion, failed to properly inform absent class members and miscalculated attorney fees, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled May 13.
May 13, 2024
Citing Jury Verdict, Plaintiffs Seek Attorney Fees From U.S. In Microcaptive Row

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Following a Florida federal jury ruling against the government in consolidated cases over whether the plaintiffs’ involvement with purported microcaptive insurance companies constituted promotion of abusive tax shelters, the corporate plaintiffs are seeking approximately $600,000 in attorney fees and costs, and the government is countering in part that its position was “substantially justified.”
May 10, 2024
Wawa Data Breach Settlement Attorney Fees Award Again Appealed To 3rd Circuit

PHILADELPHIA — A class member in the consolidated class action over the 2019 data breach experienced by convenience store chain Wawa Inc. maintained his objection to a twice-approved attorney fees award that accompanied a $9 million class settlement, filing notice that he was again appealing the matter to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 10, 2024
Magistrate Judge Rejects ‘Unreliable’ ChatGPT Responses In Fee Application Case

NEW YORK — A law firm already received a warning about using the “unreliable” ChatGPT in efforts to secure attorney fees in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) cases, a federal magistrate judge said while recommending that the requested awards be reduced.
May 09, 2024
Objector Appeals $125M PACER Class Settlement Approval To Federal Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An attorney who is a member of a class whose claims that excessive fees were paid to obtain court records via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system (PACER) were settled has appealed the final approval of the $125 million settlement to the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 08, 2024
Judge Dismisses 2nd Dispute Over Attorney Fees In Benicar MDL

CAMDEN, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge on May 7 applied the doctrine of collateral estoppel in dismissing with prejudice claims that an improper amount of attorney fees were awarded to a law firm for its work in the Benicar multidistrict litigation.
May 06, 2024
Retiree Seeks U.S. High Court Review Of ERISA Ruling In Life Insurance Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A retiree has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling he says held that “[e]mployees and retirees have no rights under [the Employee Retirement Income Security Act] to know why their group life insurance rates have been raised.”
May 06, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Rulings In Insurer’s Favor In Suit Over Hailstorm Damage

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 3 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith coverage dispute arising from hailstorm damage, finding that the lower court “correctly identified and applied governing law” in denying the insureds’ breach of contract, extracontractual and additional attorney fee claims and dismissing as moot their claim under the Texas Prompt Payment Claim Act.
May 01, 2024
Judge Awards $300,000 In Attorney Fees 3 Years After Retail Voucher Settlement

SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge on April 30 granted in part plaintiffs’ motion for attorney fees arising from a 2021 voucher class settlement agreed to by a children’s clothing retailer that was accused of advertising false “original” prices when discounting its merchandise in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other state laws.
April 30, 2024
Federal Judge: Insurer Not Entitled To Attorney Fees In Row Over Faulty Pool

MISSOULA, Mont. — A federal judge in Montana largely denied an insurer’s request for attorney fees and costs after a March finding that the insurer owed no coverage to a couple whose property was damaged by water draining from an improperly designed “disappearing floor” pool, finding the insurer does not illustrate the extreme circumstances required in declaratory judgment cases under Montana law.
April 26, 2024
MDL Judge Grants Final Approval To Economic Claims Settlement For CPAP Devices

PITTSBURGH — The federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation involving the recall of approximately 10.8 million continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea devices on April 25 granted final approval of a $506 million settlement to end all economic claims in addition to an award of $95 million for attorney fees and costs in connection with the settlement.
April 26, 2024
N.Y. Federal Magistrate Judge Recommends Fee Denial In Clash Between Music Schools

NEW YORK — A request by a music school and its founder for reimbursement of the attorney fees they incurred in successfully defending allegations of copyright infringement, unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation should not be granted, a federal magistrate judge in New York has recommended.
April 26, 2024
ICSID Orders Spain To Pay 700,000 Euros In Attorney Fees, Won’t Annul Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ad hoc committee denied the Kingdom of Spain’s application to annul an award against it for more than 30 million euros for harming the investments of two hydro and wind energy investors and ordered Spain to pay the investors nearly 700,000 euros in attorney fees.
April 25, 2024
Judge Approves Combined Fees, Costs Of More Than $956.18M In AFFF Settlements

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina has approved a combined $956,187,560.75 in attorney fees and costs related to two settlements pertaining to the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). One case involving claims against 3M Co. was settled for $12.5 billion, and the other involved claims against E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., which settled for $1.18 billion.
April 25, 2024
Settlement Of Shareholder Derivative Claims Against EV Maker Gets Final Approval

DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado granted final approval to a settlement in a shareholder derivative complaint filed by an investor who claimed that an electric vehicle manufacturer made misleading claims about its ability to scale up production following a merger, finding the settlement that includes a $1.85 million payout to be used for other legal defenses to be fair and adequate.
April 25, 2024
U.S. High Court Will Decide Prevailing Party Questions In Attorney Fees Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the commissioner of the Viriginia Department of Motor Vehicles after a divided Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Virginians who filed a putative class complaint challenging a now repealed statute regarding the suspension of driver’s licenses were the prevailing parties in their case ultimately ruled to be moot and may seek attorney fees.
April 24, 2024
Following Texas High Court’s Answer, Panel Affirms Judgment In Favor Of Insurer

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that it is required to affirm a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of an insurer in an insured’s lawsuit alleging that the insurer violated the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act (TPPCA) following the Texas Supreme Court’s answer “yes” to a certified question in finding that the TPPCA prohibited the insured from recovering attorney fees because the insurer voluntarily paid the full appraisal award for the insured’s tornado damage plus any statutory interest.
April 23, 2024
Judge Awards Dutch Shipper $10,000 In Attorney Fees, Citing ‘Vexatious Tactics’

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on April 22 granted a Dutch shipbroker’s motion for an award of attorney fees incurred litigating a Maine company’s “frivolous and bad-faith” post-award motions, which the court concluded were intended to delay enforcement of an award worth more than $633,000 for violation of a maritime contract.
April 18, 2024
Hyundai, Kia Engine Defect Settlement Approved; Attorney Fees Given Partial OK

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a class settlement agreement providing an extended warranty, recall and product improvements and reimbursements for repairs and other expenses to owners and lessees of certain Hyundai and Kia models that allegedly were built with defective engines that can spontaneously ignite and partially granted a motion for attorney fees, costs and service awards.