Judge Launches Investigation Into Law Firms’ Inflated Bills
“The judge is anticipating a real investigatory role for the special master. There’s $2 million in the pot – there’s no incentive to do a brief, perfunctory investigation.”
Critics hit law firms’ bills after class-action lawsuits
The Boston Globe discusses Thornton Law Firm's legal fees in class-action lawsuits with the Center for Class Action Fairness's founder Ted Frank. Critics of the way lawyers are paid in class-action lawsuits acknowledge that firms often dramatically mark up the rates of their lower-paid attorneys when seeking legal fees in court, but they say Thornton has pushed the practice to an extreme. “This happens all the time,” said Ted Frank, a lawyer…
Podcast: When Enough is not Enough: Frank v. Poertner
Ted Frank speaks to the Federalist Society Litigation Practice Group Podcast regarding his cert petition with the Supreme Court in Frank v. Poertner.
U.S. court voids payout of unclaimed funds in BofA class action
(Reuters) - A federal district judge abused her discretion in awarding a nonprofit money left over from a $490 million securities class-action settlement concerning the 1998 merger of BankAmerica and NationsBank that created Bank of America Corp, a divided federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.
Conscientious Objector
The biggest target of Frank’s ire, however, are settlements that award what he sees as excessive legal fees to the plaintiffs attorneys. He’s currently challenging the proposed $590 million settlement of a class action brought in 2008 on behalf of Citigroup Inc. shareholders who accused the financial giant of misleading investors about the risks of its derivative business.
Ted Frank’s Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Examination of Litigation Abuse
One of the leading ways for self-dealing class counsel to benefit themselves at the expense of the class is through what are called cy pres settlements.
Ted Frank: A Conscientious Objector
He has already picked up some wins, including a significant ruling in August in a class action against Plantronics and the company formerly known as Motorola Inc. concerning Bluetooth headsets. The Ninth Circuit rebuffed a deal that would have paid no money to class members but would have given $100,000 to four nonprofit groups dedicated to hearing loss and $850,000 to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. The lawyers are now back in the lower court, trying to hash out a new deal.
