Opinion ID: 2971876
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Additional Arguments by Weitz & Luxenberg

Text: Weitz & Luxenberg also contests the district court’s use of a uniform hourly rate that does not account for variable market rates. The court established a uniform rate out of necessity. It explained: Because the hourly rates submitted by attorneys of the same experience varied substantially, the Court “equalized” the attorneys’ lodestar calculations by substituting the following hourly rates, depending on years of practice: 1-5 years, $200/hour; 6-9 years, $300/hour; 10-14 years, $400/hour; and 15 years and over, $500/hour. The recalculation worked to reduce the hourly rate of one-sixth of the applicants, including Weitz & Luxenberg, for common benefit fees. The firm states that its hourly rate was reduced by twentyseven per cent.. The firm argues that the district court had no authority to impose a uniform rate because market rates create great variance among the rates of common benefit attorneys. The firm’s objection might be appropriate here if the court had employed a rigid formula. However, the district court made it clear that it based its awards on the totality of the circumstances, in order to “reflect accurately the common benefit each applicant conferred upon the plaintiff class relative to each other applicant.” Indeed, we believe that the district court acted reasonably under the circumstances, and its application of both the lodestar method and the percentage of the fund method ensures that Weitz & Luxenberg’s contributions, which inherently reflect its market value, were reasonably considered. The holistic and reasonable nature of the court’s analysis overcomes the firm’s challenge. See Rawlings, 9 F.3d at 517 (“In this circuit, we require only that awards of attorney’s fees by federal courts in common fund cases be reasonable under the circumstances.”) (citing Smillie v. Park Chem. Co., 710 F.2d 271, 275 (6th Cir. 1983)).