Opinion ID: 777723
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the district court's lodestar cross-check

Text: 24 The district court applied the lodestar method as a cross-check of the percentage method. Calculation of the lodestar, which measures the lawyers' investment of time in the litigation, provides a check on the reasonableness of the percentage award. Where such investment is minimal, as in the case of an early settlement, the lodestar calculation may convince a court that a lower percentage is reasonable. Similarly, the lodestar calculation can be helpful in suggesting a higher percentage when litigation has been protracted. Thus, while the primary basis of the fee award remains the percentage method, the lodestar may provide a useful perspective on the reasonableness of a given percentage award. 5 25 The court found that counsel's fees for work done on this case, if charged at current hourly rates, would amount to $7,386,876. It found nothing in the record to suggest that any of the hours claimed should be disallowed. Objectors quibble about some of the hours and charges, but we find no abuse of discretion. See WPPSS, 19 F.3d at 1298-99. Calculating fees at prevailing rates to compensate for delay in receipt of payment was within the district court's discretion. See Gates v. Deukmejian, 987 F.2d 1392, 1406 (9th Cir.1992). 26 Objectors' principal quarrel is with the district court's lode star cross-check, which resulted in a multiplier of 3.65. The court found this number reasonable by considering the factors in Kerr v. Screen Extras Guild, Inc., 526 F.2d 67, 69-70 (9th Cir.1975), including the complexity of this case, the risks involved and the length of the litigation. Vizcaino, 142 F.Supp.2d at 1306. The bar against risk multipliers in statutory fee cases does not apply to common fund cases. WPPSS, 19 F.3d at 1299-1300. Indeed, courts have routinely enhanced the lodestar to reflect the risk of non-payment in common fund cases. Id. at 1300. This mirrors the established practice in the private legal market of rewarding attorneys for taking the risk of nonpayment by paying them a premium over their normal hourly rates for winning contingency cases. Id. at 1299. In common fund cases, attorneys whose compensation depends on their winning the case[] must make up in compensation in the cases they win for the lack of compensation in the cases they lose. Id. at 1300-01 (internal citation and quotation omitted). Class counsel here have represented that they would not have taken this case other than on a contingency basis. They perform little work on an hourly basis, and the rates they submitted were what they took to be market rates, in other words, rates that did not already reflect an expectation of excellent results. 27 Thus, a multiplier was appropriate in this case. The district court's percentage of the fund analysis discussed above addressed the substantial risk class counsel faced, compounded by the litigation's duration and complexity. The court considered these circumstances in arriving at a multiplier which was within the range of multipliers applied in common fund cases. 6 We find no abuse of discretion. 7 28