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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Class Action and Other Litigation

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, January 11, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will discuss the apparent trend, at least among some courts, of applying greater scrutiny to attorneys' fees in class actions to ensure that fees are based on actual, not theoretical, benefit to the class. The panel will review Federal Rules 23(e)(C)(iii) and 23(h), common fund allocation and calculation methods, and some of the potential red flags raised by recent settlements that were rejected over attorneys' fees issues or in which fees were reduced or reversed.

Faculty

Stephen J. Herman
Special Counsel
Fishman Haygood LLP

Mr. Herman is special counsel in the firm’s Litigation Section. With thirty years of experience, his primary practice focus recently has been on representing both plaintiffs and defendants in commercial, class action, and professional liability cases. Mr. Herman also is often asked to provide expert testimony in such matters. He maintains a broad civil practice. Mr. Herman has handled everything from highway defect and products liability cases to fire and flood loss cases, to attorney fee disputes and employment cases, to special appellate work before the Louisiana Supreme Court and other courts of appeal. Notably, in 2010 he was appointed by the Court to serve as one of two Liaison and Lead Class Counsel for all businesses, individuals, and local governments involved in the Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill litigation.

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Hassan Zavareei
Partner
Tycko & Zavareei, LLP

Mr. Zavareei has devoted the last eighteen years to recovering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of consumers and workers. He has served in leadership roles in dozens of class action cases and has been appointed Class Counsel on behalf of numerous litigation and settlement classes. An accomplished and experienced attorney, Mr. Zavareei has litigated in state and federal courts across the nation in a wide range of practice areas; tried several cases to verdict; and successfully argued numerous appeals, including in the D.C. Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, and the Fifth Circuit.

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Description

Proponents of settlement should not expect to have fee arrangements rubber-stamped. The circuit courts are making clear that courts must assess whether an attorneys' fees arrangement are appropriate at both the pre- and post-certification stages. Similar scrutiny is being applied to requests for "reasonable" fees awarded under Rule 23(h).

Because fee arrangements are an important aspect of the class settlement, counsel must be well-versed in designing and calculating attorneys' fees and the methods that might be problematic in different types of settlement structures. Valuation of non-cash benefits must generally be supported by cogent expert testimony. Agreed-upon and/or requested fees may be reduced.

The heightened focus on attorneys' fees over the past decade is now being felt in more jurisdictions, particularly in consumer-focused class actions.

Listen as our experienced panel of class action lawyers explores the new emphasis on attorneys' fees, attorneys' fee calculation methods, standards for comparing attorneys' fees and class benefits, and special issues in claims made and coupon cases.

Outline

  1. Overview of Rule 23(e)(3) and 23(h)
  2. Fee calculation methods
  3. Balancing fees against the benefit to class members and type of relief
  4. Red flags of collusion
  5. Analogies from other substantive areas of law
  6. Recent decisions, including
    1. Lowery v. Rhapsody Int’l Inc., 75 F.4th 985 (9th Cir. 2023)
    2. Moses v. New York Times Co., 79 F.4th 235 (2d Cir. 2023)
    3. In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, 80 F.4th 797, 800 (7th Cir. 2023)

Benefits

The panel will review these and other critical issues:

  • What settlement structures and fee provisions are most likely to pass muster?
  • How are fees in damages actions assessed differently than in injunctive actions?
  • What are some of the considerations to account for in claims-made settlement classes?