Forbes profiles the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute and its director Theodore H. Frank. William Baldwin explains how class action settlements work, and why Ted “is not a popular figure in the litigation bar.”
This week, Judge Jed Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York agreed with the Center for Class Action Fairness objection to the excessive attorneys’ fees request in the $3 billion class action settlement, In re Petrobras Securities Litigation.
‘Gobsmacking’ Fee Request: Haynes also challenges class counsel’s request of $284.5 million, 9.5 percent of the settlement’s value, in attorneys’ fees. He called the request ‘‘gobsmacking,’’ saying it will further dilute class recovery and ‘‘is based on the brazen overbilling of contract attorneys to the tune of nearly $100 million.’’
The Center for Class Action Fairness objected on behalf of a class member to an unfair settlement and an excessive attorneys’ fees request in In re Petrobras Securities Litigation; plaintiffs’ attorneys inflated their fees and overbilled class members for “project attorneys” earning $325-$625/hour for what is relatively risk-free litigation, following widespread government investigations.
On June 25, 2018, Judge Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York largely agreed with the objector concerning contract attorney billing, which results in nearly $100 million additional dollars going to class members. In spite of the successful objection, CCAF was only awarded $11,000 in attorneys fees.
