-.- -___. . ., 

UNlTED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK -. 

* * * * * * * * * 

* 

IN RE: * 

* MASTER FILE 

FOSAMAN PRODUCTS LIABILITY LIGATION * 

* I :06-MD- 1789 (JFK) 

Tli~s Docuri~erit Relates to .All Cases * 

* 

CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER NO. 12 

(Plaintiffs' Common benefit Time and Expenses Submissions) 

The Court has been advised that, at the conclusion of this MDL andlor resolution of the 

Fosamax litigation, thc niembers of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee will submit a claim to the 

court for common benefit fees and cxpenses to be paid out ofthe cornmon benefit fund derived from 

MDL assessments imposed upon Fosamax recovery. See MANUAL FORCOMPLEX LITK;..~~~. $ 1412. 

In order to ensure that attorncy time and expenses inuring to the coinmon benefit are being 

contemporaneousl~ recorded and submitted, the PSC has requested a CMO detailing certain 

guidelines pertaining to what qualifies as a common benefit expense and how to record common 

benefit time. With no objection from Defendant, this Court accordingly ORDERS as follows 

Reimbursement for costs andlor fees for services of all plaintiffs' counsel perfonning 

functions in accordance with this order will be set at a time and in a manner established by the Court 

after due notice to all counsel and after a hcaring. The following standards and procedures are to be 

utilized by any counsel seeking common benefit fees andlor common benefit expense 

reimbursement. 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 1 of 11
A. General Standards 

I. All time and expenses submitted must be incurred only forwork authorized by the Plaintiffs' 

Steering Committee. 

7 . These Timc and Expense Guidelines are intended for all activities performed and expenses 

incurred by courisel that relate to matters common to all Plaintiffs in MDL 1789. 

3. Common benefit time and expense submissions must be submitted on the attached forms 

approved by the Court. See: 

Attachment "A" - Monthly Time Detail Report 

. Attachment "B" - Summary Report of Member Fiml Time 

. Attachment "C" - Common Held Costs And Expenses. 

4. Reports will be provided to Plaintiffs' Steerins Committce's administrative subcommittee 

on a monthly basis. These reports will includc both time and cxpenses and will summarize, with 

back-up detail, the subniissions of all firms. 

5. Time arid expense submissions (to include Attachments A, B & C) must be submitted timely, 

on a monthly basis, as indicated below so they can be reviewed, compiled, and audited for ultimate 

subn~ission to the Court. It is therefore essential that each firm, on a monthly basis, timely submit 

its records for the preceding month. 

6. All submissions shall be transmitted electronically to aimino~louisianale~al.com orin hard 

copy to Plaintiffs' Administrative Sub-committee c/o Anthony Irpirio, 365 Canal Street, Suite 2290, 

New Orleans, LA 70130. If hard copy submissions are made, an original and one duplicate copy 

must be provided. 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 2 of 11
7. The first submission is due on October 15, 2007 and should include all time and expenses 

through September 30,2007. Thereafter, time records shall be submitted on the 15th of each month 

and shall covcr thc time period through the end of the preceding month. 

B. Time Reporting 

I. Only time spent on matters common to all claimants in MDL 1789 will be considered in 

determining fees. No time spent on developing or processing any case for an individual client 

(claimant) will be considered or should be submitted. Moreover, even if the time is spent on matters 

common to all claimants in MDL 1789, such time spent has to be assigned and authorized by the 

Plaintiffs' Stcering Committee. 

2. All timc must be accurately and contemporaneously maintained. Time shall be kept 

according to these guidelines and specifically by way of the forms provided - Attachments A & B. 

All counsel shall keep a daily record oftheir time spent in connection with this litigation, indicating 

with specificity the hours, location and particular activity. Such daily records shall be compiled into 

the form as shown in Attachment A, and submitted as described above. The failure to maintain and 

submit such records, or an insufficient description of the activity, may result in a disallo\vance of 

common benefit rees. All firms shall also con~plete and submit a summary oftheir firm's time spent 

in connection with this litigation (Attachment B). The failure to complete andlor submit such a 

report, may result in a disallowance olcommon benefit fees. 

3. All time for each firm shall be maintained in quarter-of-an-hour increments (e.g., 1 - 15 

minutes - .25 hrs., 16 - 30 minutes - .50 hrs., 31 - 45 minutes - .75 hrs., and 46 - 60 minutes = 1.00 

h). Failure to do so may result in timc being disallowed. 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 3 of 11
4. All time records shall be submitted together with a form summarizing the total of member 

firm time broken down by each separate name oftime keeper and Litigation Task Definition the time 

spent during the preceding month and the accumulated total of all time incurred by the firm during 

the particular reporting period. This information shall be recorded on the summary report, 

Attachment B hereto. 

5. The summary report foml shall be certified by the responsible attorney each month attesting 

to the accuracy and correctncss of the monthly submission. 

C. Expense Reporting 

1. Advanced costs will be deemed as either "Shared" or "Held." 

a. Shared Costs are cosls that will be paid out of a separate PSC MDL 1789 Fund 

established by the Plaintiffs' Steering Conlnlittee and to be funded by all members of PSC. 

b. Held Costs are those that will be canied by each attorney in MDL 1789 and 

reimbursed at the conclusion of this MDL. 

2. Each member of the PSC and any othcrs as set forth in section (1) above will contribute to 

the PSC MDL 1789 fund at times and in amounts sufficient to cover the administration of the MDL. 

The tinling and amount of each litigation fund assessment will be determined by the PSC. 

3. Shared Costs are costs incurred for the common benefit of the MDL as a whole. No 

client-relatcd costs can be considered as Shared Costs. All costs of a substantial nature that meet 

these requirements and fall under the following categories shall be considered Shared Costs and 

qualify to besubmitted andpaiddirectly from theMDL account. All Shared Costs niust be approved 

by the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee prior to payment. Shared Costs include: 

a. Court, filing and serb~ice costs 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 4 of 11
b. Deposition and court reporter costs 

c. Documlent Depository: creation, operation, staffing, equipment and administration 

d. PSC administrative nlatters (expenses for equipment, technology, courier services, 

long distance, telecopier, electronic service, etc.) 

e. PSC goup administration matters such as meeting and conference calls 

f. Accountant fees 

D 

a. Expert witness and consultant fees and expenses 

h. Printing, copying, coding, scanning (out of house or extraordinary fiml costs) 

I. Research by outside third party vendors/consultants/attorneys 

1. Common witness expenses including travel 

k. Translation costs 

I. Bank or financial institution charges 

m. Lnvestigative services 

4. Plaintiffs' Administrative Sub-committee shall prepare arid be responsible for distributing 

to the appropriateplaintiffs'counsel and the PSC reimbursement procedures and the forms associated 

therewith. 

5. Held Costs are costs incurred for the global benefit of the MDL. Held costs are those that 

do not fall into the above Shared Costs categories but are incurred for the benefit of all plaintiffs in 

general. No specific client-related costs can be considered as Held Costs. All costs of a substantial 

nature that meet these requiremcnts and fall under the following categories shall be considered Held 

Costs arld qualify to be submitted for consideration by the PSC and the Court for future 

reimbursement. 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 5 of 11
a. Telefax charzes 

b. Postage, shipping, courier, certified mail 

c. In-house printing and photocopying 

d. Computerized research - LexisIWestlaw 

e. Telephone - long distance 

f. Travel (following the travel expense guidelines) for attorney for deposition, court or 

legislative including: 

1. Airfarc 

. . 

11. Reasonable ground transportation 

... 

111. Hotel 

iv. Reasonable meals and cntertainment 

v. Reasonable other (parking: e.g.,) 

vi. Car rental: cabs, etc. 

2. Held Cost records shall be submitted to Plaintiffs' Administrative Sub-committee on a 

monthly basis. 

3. Except in extraordinarycircumstances approved by Plaintiffs' Administrative Committee or 

PEC, all travel reirnbursemcnts are subject to the following limitations: 

a. Airfare- Only coach airfare at time ofbooking (either at restricted coach rates or rates 

which allow the reservation to rebook without surcharge and other agency fees) for a 

reasonable itinerary will be reimbursed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, first class airfare 

shall he allowed for cross-country flights that are in excess of four hours non-stop flight time 

or international tlights. 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 6 of 11
b. - Hotel - Hotel room charges will he reimbursed for up to the greater of a) $395/night 

excluding taxes, orb) the average available room rate of the Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott hotels 

in that city. 

c. Meals- Meal expenscs must be reasonable and must account for the individuals who 

are co~isuming the meal. 

d. Cash Expenses - Miscellaneous cash expenses for which receipts generally are not 

available (tips, luggage handling, pay telephone, etc) will be reimbursed up to $20.00 per 

trip, as long as the expenses are properly itemized. 

e. Rental Automobiles - Luxury automobile rentals will not be fully reimbursed, unless 

only luxury automobiles were available. Ifluxuryautomobiles are selected when non-luxury 

vehicles are available- then the difference between the luxury and non-luxury vehicle rates 

must be shown on the travel reimbursement form, and only the non-luxury rate may be 

claimed. 

f. Mileage - Mileage claims must be documented by stating origination point, 

destination, total actual miles for each trip, and the rate per mile paid by the member's firm. 

'The maximum allowable rate will be the maximum rate allowed by the LRS. 

4. The following limitations will apply to non-travel expenses: 

a. Lonr Distancc and Cellular Telephone - Long distance and cellulartclephone charges 

must be documented. Copies of the telephone bills must be submitted with notations as to 

which charges relate to MDL 1789. 

b. Shipping. Courier, and Delivery Charges - All claimcd expenses must be documented 

with bills showing the scnder, origin of the packagc, recipient. and destination of the 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 7 of 11
package. 

c. Postage Charges - Acontemporaneous postage log or other supporting documentation 

must be maintained and submitted. Postage charges are to be reported at actual cost. 

d. Telefax Charges - Contemporaneous records should be maintained and submitted 

showing faxes scnt and received - documenting the date of the fax as well as the number of 

pages sentlreceived. The per-fax charge shall not exceed S1.OO per page. 

e. In-House Photocooy -A contemporaneous photocopy log or other supporting 

documentation must be maintained and submitted - docurnentins the datc of the 

photocopying as well as the number of pages copied. The maximum copy charge is 

$0.25/pagc. 

f. Com~uterized Kescarch - LexisIWestlaw - Claims for Lexis, Westlaw, and other 

computerized legal research expenses should be in the exact amount charged to the firm for 

thesc research services. 

SO ORDERED. 

DATED: New York, New York 

September 18: 2007. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 8 of 11
hIDL 1789 - IN RE: FOSAMAX PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION 

MONTHLY TIME DETAIL REPORT 

Attachment "A" 

FOR MONTH: -- 

FIRM NAME: 

INDIVIDUAL NAME: 

ATTORNEY PARqLEGAL LAW CLERK OTHER (circle one) 

Time Chart 

Description of Activity Code Time 

Receipt & Review e-mail from J. Simms re: master discovery to 8 0.25 

defendant 

1 2/18/07 I Attend Post-Status Conference PSC mectinr 15 11.50 i 

Teleconference with F. Mormon rc: setting-up document 1 0.25 

1 2/19/07 1 Internet research re: cornorate assels of defendant 12 11.25 1 

depository 

Travel to New York re: Status Conference 

Attend Status Conference 

1 judgment 

6 

4 

1 2/20:07 

2/21/07 

Total time oflinsert individual's name) Tor month 6: vear): 

2.50 

1 .OO 

[Time detail above is illustrative] 

Receipt & Revicw of defendant's appeal re: class certification 

Legal research re: summary judgment standards 

2/21/07 , Drafting opposition to defendant's motion for summary 

9 

3 

1.75 

2.25 

3 4.50 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 9 of 11
MDL 1789 - IN RE: FOSAMAX PRODUCTS 1.IABILITY LITIGATION 

SUMMARY REPORT OF MEMBER FIRM TIME 

Attaclmient "B" 

Reporting Period: 

From: To: Firm Name: 

Cate~ories: 1. Administrative, 2. InvrstigatiodResearch; 3. PleadingsPre-Trial Motions, 4. Court Appearances (including preparation), 

5. Litigation Strategy Analysis, 6. Travel, 7. Trial PreparatiodTrial, 8. Discovery, 9. Appeals; 10. Settlement 

APLO 

APLO 

1 certify that the time docurncnted above 1s accurate and correct and was incurred for thc co~llmon benefit of claimants in MDL 1789. 

Si yature: Date: Cotrfiderttiul Attortrey Work Product 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 10 of 11
Attachment "C" 

Reporting Period: 

From: 

To: Firm Name: 

MDL 1789 - IN RE: FOSAMAX PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION 

COMMON HELD COSTS AND EXPENSES 

FROM: THROUGH: 

CLIENT COSTSIEXPENSES TOTAL 

Telefax charges 

Postage, shipping, courier, certificd mail 

Printing and photocopying (in-house) 

Computerized research - LexislWestlaw 

Telephone - Ions distance (actual charges only) 

Travel 

Other (please itemize, on attached sheet if necessary) 

TOTAL COSTS 

*Please attach documentation for each expense reported. 

I certify that these expenses are properly documented, complete and accurate and have been incurred 

for the common benefit. 

- 

Sigature Date 

Case 1:07-cv-03294-JFK Document 7 Filed 09/18/2007 Page 11 of 11