Opinion ID: 769936
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Class Counsel's Fee and Cost Award

Text: 25 We review for abuse of discretion the district court's fee and cost award to class counsel, see Hanlon v. Chrysler Corp., 150 F.3d 1011, 1029 (9th Cir. 1998), and for clear error its factual determinations, see Koirala v. Thai Airways Int'l, Ltd., 126 F.3d 1205, 1213 (9th Cir. 1997). 4 26 We have not previously considered how a district court should review a request for an award of attorney fees and costs for class counsel when the defendant has agreed that those fees and costs will be paid separately from the class settlement, and the defendant has agreed not to object to class counsel's fee and cost request so long as the request does not exceed a negotiated amount. Such an agreement has the potential of enabling a defendant to pay class counsel excessive fees and costs in exchange for counsel accepting an unfair settlement on behalf of the class. 27 In making the January 1999 award of attorney fees and costs, the district court relied on class counsel's documented costs and summaries of the time they spent on the case and the fees applicable for the services they rendered. The court did not examine class counsel's contemporaneous time records, but it carefully reviewed the requests and summaries they submitted. The district court also received expert testimony that the fee requestwas reasonable. Although the potential for collusion existed, nothing before the court suggested any collusion occurred, and Havird made no such showing. In these circumstances, we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion by not examining class counsel's contemporaneous time records, conducting a more intensive inquiry, or perhaps enlisting the services of a special master. 28 Havird contends, nonetheless, that class counsel overstated the hours they spent and the costs they incurred in the case. She points to the facts that (1) the language used in class counsel's fee request is exactly the same as that used in fee requests in other cellular antitrust cases; (2) class counsel had been caught overstating its hours in other cellular antitrust cases; and (3) class counsel claimed compensation in this case for work actually performed in other cases. 5 The district court found these contentions to be baseless. This finding is not clearly erroneous. 29 While class counsel may have used the same language in its fee request in this case as it used in other cases, this does not necessarily mean that class counsel was charging twice or more for the same work. The other cases, like this case, were cellular antitrust cases, and it follows that work of a similar nature would be performed and requested in all the cases. Further, even though there was evidence that Kolodny & Pressman overstated its hours in other cases, there was no showing of any overstating of hours in this case. And, as previously mentioned, there was expert testimony that class counsel's fee request was reasonable. With regard to the requested costs, the court found class counsel's actual costs exceeded its requested costs and that the requested costs were appropriate. That finding is not clearly erroneous.