Smith v. Assurance IQ, LLC

Docket number: 2023-CH-09225 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty. Chancery Div.)

The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute represents objector Nicholas Chidiac, who challenges a bloated 46% net fee request enabled by plaintiffs’ counsel’s forum shopping tactics in Smith v. Assurance IQ, LLC.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys settled a nationwide class action that covers millions of individuals who received unsolicited marketing calls from the defendant in Cook County, Illinois. The attorneys previously litigated their claims in federal courts, prevailing against motions to dismiss in the District of Arizona and Western District of Washington (where the defendant is located). In November 2023, the attorneys filed a new complaint in state court because they know that the federal courts where they litigated the underlying claims would unlikely award such a high percentage. If class attorneys had filed their settlement in either of the earlier-filed forums, controlling case law would allow no more than 25% attorneys’ fees.

Objector Chidiac opposes this forum shopping, which breaches the fiduciary duty that class counsel owes to maximize recovery to class members. Chidiac has asked the Chancery Court to apply the law of the Ninth Circuit and award no more than 25% of the net common fund so as to not reward the attorneys’ gamesmanship.

The trial court overruled the objection. Chidiac did not appeal

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