Bloomberg Law wrote about the HLLI’s successful appeal in Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, where on August 30, 2023, the Seventh Circuit vacated a $57 million fee award that HLLI argued greatly exceeded market approximating rates.
Katie Arcieri writes for Bloomberg Law:
In its Wednesday ruling, the Seventh Circuit said the district court failed to consider bids made by attorneys in auctions in comparable cases, and the decision by courts to award much lower fees.
“We recognize that the district court has lived with this complex litigation for a long time,” the Seventh Circuit wrote. But “given the record as considered under our admittedly intricate law, the arrived-upon figure of one-third of the net settlement warrants greater explanation and consideration of the information described above.”
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Class member John Andren, who purchased chicken broiler meat, appealed the fee award, arguing that the market rate for attorney awards in similar cases were much lower than a third of a settlement. Andren is also an attorney for the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, a free market nonprofit public-interest law firm.
“We’re grateful for the opinion, and hope it will ultimately result in the class getting more money,” said Ted Frank, an attorney for Andren as well as the director of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute and the Center for Class Action Fairness.