Opinion ID: 1428164
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Attorneys' Fees and Disbursements to Class Counsel and Linda Cahn

Text: The settling Plaintiffs' counsel, Abbey Gardy LLP and Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, requested that the District Court approve their application for attorneys' fees in the amount of $12.75 million, or 30% of the settlement fund  a 1.79 multiple of their lodestar  and for disbursements in the amount of $893,294.50. From their fee award, Plaintiffs' counsel agreed to absorb payment of a reasonable fee to Lowey Dannenberg Bemporad & Selinger and Rawlings & Associates (collectively the Lowey Firm), which had requested a fee award in the amount of $637,500  a 1.317 multiplier of its lodestar of $483,947.50  and disbursements in the amount of $19,576.96. The District Court determined that counsel's requests were reasonable and approved their applications: [T]he present fee application for 30% of the [s]ettlement [f]und made by Abbey Gardy and Boies, Schiller & Flexner and including the services of the Lowey firm is reasonable. It is clear by [s]ettling Plaintiffs' submissions that [c]ounsel expended a substantial amount of time and effort in this litigation. The total combined lodestar for [s]ettling Plaintiffs' [c]ounsel and the Lowey firm is $7,138,047.25, representing almost 16,000 hours spent litigating this case. Settlement negotiations began almost three years ago, and were completed only by the tremendous effort of counsel. The litigation occurred over a period of six years, and was performed on a purely contingent basis, with [c]lass [c]ounsel advancing the many thousands of dollars of necessary disbursements. If, after trial, [c]lass Plaintiffs were unsuccessful, due to the contingent nature of the lawsuit, [s]ettling Plaintiffs' [c]ounsel would have received no compensation. [C]ontingency risk and quality of representation must be considered in setting a reasonable fee. Goldberger v. Integrated Res., Inc., 209 F.3d 43, 54 (2d Cir. 2000). Settling Plaintiffs' [c]ounsels' request of 30% of the [s]ettlement [f]und, applies a multiplier of 1.786 to the submitted lodestar. This multiplier is reasonable and fair. . . . The [c]ourt awards [s]ettling Plaintiffs' [c]ounsel (including the Lowey Firm) a fee award of 30% of the [s]ettlement [f]und, calculated as $12.75 million, less the award of legal fees to Linda J. Cahn . . ., and disbursements in the amount of $893,294.50 for [s]ettling Plaintiffs' [c]ounsel and disbursements for the Lowey firm in the amount of $19,576.96. Under the class notice, total fees may not exceed 30%. Id. at . In addition, Linda Cahn, attorney for the Blumenthal Plan, moved for an award of legal fees and disbursements to be paid out of the common fund that resulted from the Settlement Agreement. Cahn sought reimbursement for a lodestar of 2,182 hours, together with $4,698 in expenses, as well as an award of 10% of the total attorneys' fees awarded to class counsel of record. With respect to Cahn's application for fees, the District Court concluded that, although the Settlement Agreement had been agreed upon in principle by class counsel and without any input from Cahn, her participation was an important part in the finalization of its terms and that her efforts benefitted the class as to support a reasonable legal fee out of the fund in the nature of quantum meruit.  Id. at . The District Court determined, however, that there was no basis to award a percentage fee of the recovery to Ms. Cahn. She neither created the class action settlement nor did she induce acceptance of it by the Defendants. Her assistance was limited to fine tuning of provisions and documents after the [s]ettlement had been agreed to in principle. Id. Ultimately, the District Court awarded Cahn attorneys' fees and disbursements in the amount of $165,578, to be deducted from the 30% award to class counsel in light of the cap on total fees. Id. at .