Mealey's Attorney Fees : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Attorney Fees

December 13, 2024
Kansas Appeals Court Affirms Damages Against Stadium Sub, Remands Fee Issue

TOPEKA, Kan. — In a 20-year-old construction defect case, the Kansas Court of Appeals has affirmed the apportionment of damages due to a contractor by a subcontractor but remanded again an attorney fees issue.
December 12, 2024
$3.5M Settlement In ERISA Suit Over TDFs, Another Fund Wins Final Approval

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge has granted final approval to a $3.5 million class settlement that resolved retirement plan participants’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenging the use of target-date funds (TDFs) and another investment option.
December 12, 2024
CPAP Judge Gives Final OK To Medical Monitoring Settlement, Attorney Fees Awards

PITTSBURGH — The federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation involving the recall of approximately 10.8 million continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea devices has given final approval to a $25 million settlement to resolve medical monitoring claims and awarded $4.8 million for attorney fees and costs.
December 11, 2024
Granite Installer Awarded Reduced Attorney Fees After Age Bias Verdict

PITTSBURGH — A granite installer awarded nearly $80,000 for compensatory damages and front and back pay on age bias claims by a federal jury was awarded more than twice that in attorney fees and costs by a federal judge in Pennsylvania.
December 05, 2024
Doctor Entitled To Almost $98K In Attorney Fees For Success On Disability Claim

SAN FRANCISCO — A pediatrician who successfully prevailed on her claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on her high risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus is entitled to $97,965 in attorney fees and $625 in costs because the pediatrician succeeded on the merits of her disability claim and the disability insurer presented no special circumstances that would warrant against an award, a California federal judge said in granting the pediatrician’s motion for attorney fees and costs.
December 05, 2024
Delaware Judge Will Not Revise Opinion That Musk’s Tesla Pay Package Is Unfair

DOVER, Del. — A Tesla Inc. stockholder vote approving a $56 billion pay package for Elon Musk is not grounds to revise a Delaware judge’s posttrial opinion that Musk is not entitled to the $56 billion compensation package because the vote occurred after the posttrial opinion was issued and not during the litigation, the judge said.
December 05, 2024
$30M 23andMe Data Breach Settlement Gets Court’s Conditional Preliminary OK

SAN FRANCISCO — The California federal judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation involving claims against genetic testing company 23andMe Inc. for failing to protecting users’ data from hackers granted preliminary approval on Dec. 4 to a $30 million settlement of the claims on the condition that the plaintiffs amend their definition of the settlement class to exclude parties who are pursuing arbitration and despite “serious concerns” with the plaintiffs’ $7.5 million attorney fees request.
December 05, 2024
Judge Awards Plaintiffs Almost $60,000 For Discovery Row In Dialysis Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Awarding a little more than half of the amount the plaintiffs requested, an Ohio federal judge has ordered a hospital and its health plan to pay $59,629.38 in attorney fees and costs in connection with a discovery dispute in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case over dialysis payment rates.
December 05, 2024
Class Counsel Confirms $92M Was Wired To Administrator In Insurers’ ACA Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a federal judge entered an order requiring class counsel to return “$92,424,335.84, the excess of the $184,848,671.67 previously distributed for fees over the current fee award,” counsel filed a notice in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims confirming that it wired the $92,424,335.84 to nondispute subclass members in a risk-corridor payment dispute under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
December 04, 2024
Federal Judge Awards Delayed Attorney Fees In Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO — Two years after giving final approval of a settlement, a federal judge approved a motion for attorney fees in a shareholder lawsuit alleging that several senior executives and the board of directors of Pinterest Inc. breached their fiduciary duty by participating in and/or failing to sufficiently prevent a culture of racial and sexual discrimination within the company.
December 04, 2024
Jackson Hewitt $10.8M Wage Suppression Class Settlement Granted Final OK

NEWARK, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey granted final approval of a $10.8 million settlement in a class complaint by individuals who worked for a tax preparation franchisor or franchisees and alleged that there was a conspiracy to suppress compensation via no-poach agreements and issued an order granting attorney fees, expenses and service awards.
December 03, 2024
Calif. Gas Station Owner Owes $2.3M In Attorney Fees For CERCLA, RCRA Violations

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California has awarded more than $2.3 million in costs and attorney fees to the owner of an apartment building that filed suit under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) against a neighboring gas station over the release of hazardous substances that migrated onto its property.
December 03, 2024
Judge Chides Data Breach Attorneys For ‘Sub-Par’ Work, Reduces Fees Award

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Despite granting final approval to a $1.5 million settlement of a lawsuit over a health care services provider’s 2022 data breach, as well as the plaintiffs’ requests for service awards and cost reimbursements, a Connecticut federal judge reduced the requested attorney fees award for using “very, very high” rates in light of “significant errors” by plaintiffs’ counsel.
December 02, 2024
Nearly $700M Of Settlements In Real Estate Commissions Case Granted Final Approval

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri on Nov. 27 granted final approval of nearly $700 million in settlements by the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) and others in a real estate commission class lawsuit accusing NAR and real estate franchises of conspiring to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.
December 02, 2024
$17.5 Million New York City Head Covering Removal Settlement Approved

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York granted final approval of a $17.5 million settlement, including $4,147,460 for attorney fees and costs, to be paid by New York City to end a class complaint by individuals who were forced to remove religious head coverings for post-arrest photos.
November 27, 2024
9th Circuit’s Jurisdiction Debated In California Clean Water Act Case Fee Denial

SAN FRANCISCO — An environmental organization granted interim attorney fees after suing two California cities under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging bacteria pollution from stormwater sewage systems argues that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has no jurisdiction to overturn the federal judge’s decision not to reconsider granting the fees and should dismiss an appeal the cities filed seeking the appellate court’s opinion on the “excessive and premature attorney’s fees order.”
November 25, 2024
Judge Approves AFFF Drinking Water Settlements For More Than $1.06 Billion

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina on Nov. 22 issued two separate opinions granting final approval to two settlements, which combined are worth more than $1.06 billion, to resolve claims by municipalities and water authorities against two manufacturers related to drinking water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). In a separate-but-related opinion, the judge awarded attorney fees and costs of $95,791,081.51 for class counsel’s work on both settlements.
November 25, 2024
Idaho Appeals Court Affirms Arbitration Award, Grants Appeal Fees, Costs

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho appeals court has affirmed an arbitration award in a five-building construction dispute and awarded the contractor appeal fees because the property owner was challenging unreviewable arbitration decisions.
November 22, 2024
AI Rental Discrimination Case Receives Judge Approval For $1.75M Settlement

BOSTON — A settlement providing for $1.75 million plus fees and incentives has resolved a class action alleging that an artificial intelligence-based renter scoring program discriminated against those utilizing state and federal housing vouchers and therefore Blacks and Hispanics after a federal judge in Massachusetts granted final approval of the deal.
November 22, 2024
TikTok Not Entitled To Attorney Fees In Digital Media Patent Infringement Suit

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Despite TikTok Inc. being the prevailing party and being granted judgment on the pleadings in a patent infringement suit over video clip storytelling, a California federal magistrate judge found that the case was not exceptional, leading her to deny the social media company’s motion for attorney fees of almost $5 million.
November 22, 2024
Calif. Waste Facility Operator To Pay $762K In Fees In Leachate Discharge Case

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California has ordered the operator of a California recycling and waste facility that allegedly violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) and state law by discharging stormwater-contaminated leachate into a wetland preserve and the Sacramento River to pay more than $762,000 in attorney fees and costs to an environmental nonprofit, stating that the nonprofit is a prevailing party and eligible for reasonable compensation.
November 22, 2024
Nev. High Court Upholds Attorney Fees, Cuts Amount For Defendant In Accident Case

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The defendant in an auto accident case was properly awarded attorney fees and costs after his offer to settle was rejected by the plaintiff and a jury ruled in his favor, but the unexplained $30,000 added in the trial court’s judgment must be reversed, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled.
November 22, 2024
Kentucky Appeals Court Upholds Verdict For Roofing Contractor, Remands For Fees

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Court of Appeals has denied a couple’s appeal of a $30,000 verdict against them in a roofing dispute and reversed the trial court’s denial of attorney fees and costs for the contractor.
November 21, 2024
Texas Judge OKs Settlement Reimbursing University Data Breach Victims’ Losses

SAN ANTONIO — An agreement in which a university agrees to reimburse ordinary and extraordinary losses that class members suffered due to a 2022 data breach was deemed “fair, reasonable, and adequate” by a Texas judge as she granted final approval to the settlement of negligence and privacy class claims over the incident.
November 20, 2024
Plaintiffs Who Persuaded Jury In Microcaptive Row Lose Attorney Fee Bid

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Saying that the government’s “inability to convince the jury of the merits of its case does not change the substantial justification of its position,” a Florida federal judge on Nov. 19 denied the corporate plaintiffs’ motion for approximately $600,000 in attorney fees and costs in consolidated cases where they successfully challenged penalties imposed because the Internal Revenue Service deemed their involvement with purported microcaptive insurance companies to be promotion of abusive tax shelters.