Kelly House at Bridge Michigan covered the decision awarding fees in the In re: Flint Water Cases case and quotes HLLI attorney Frank Bednarz on the award.
Lawyers who helped win a $626-million legal settlement tied to the Flint water crisis could
receive close to $180 million for their work, according to terms set forth in a federal judge’s ruling Friday. It’s less than they requested, but considerably more than critics say should go to lawyers for such a large class-action award.
In her decision, U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy adjusted some of the lawyers’ requested fees downward, leaving them to collect expenses and fees coming to what she described as “less than 31.33 percent” of the total settlement amount of $626.25 million.
The exact dollar amount won’t be known until administrative fees and other details are worked out, but one lawyer who has closely followed the case said he expects lawyers to take about $180 million.
…
But a lawyer for a D.C.-based nonprofit that fights for smaller fees in class action suits said he was disappointed in a ruling that he estimates will send about $180 million to lawyers. Noting that he was still reading through the ruling, Frank Bednarz, an attorney with the Center for Class Action Fairness at the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, said Friday the judge had granted lawyers compensation that is “not that much different than what they asked for.”
In hearings before Levy last year, Bednarz was among multiple lawyers and Flint residents who had pushed for a smaller fee structure. He accused some lawyers of overcharging for reimbursable expenses, and noted other class-action suits in which attorneys had received a far smaller cut of the total settlement.