The Court approved an award of attorneys’ fees of $4 million to class counsel. It found the fees to be reasonable under the percentage of fund approach, the lodestar-multiplier approach, and the fee factors considered in North Carolina cases based on Rule 1.5 of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct.
Attorney Fees
Rankin v. Microsoft Corp., June 10, 2004 (Tennille)(unpublished)
By Mack Sperling on
Posted in Attorney Fees, Class Actions
This Motion to Intervene before the Court in this class action case against Microsoft was filed not by a potential party, but by a group of lawyers seeking to share in any fee award to plaintiff’s counsel. The Court refused to allow the lawyers to intervene, because lawyers who have never been counsel of record…
Media Network, Inc. v. Long Haymes Carr, Inc., January 14, 2008 (Diaz)(unpublished)
By Mack Sperling on
Posted in Attorney Fees, Unfair & Deceptive Practices
The Court declined to award attorneys’ fees under the Unfair and Deceptive Practices Statute. It found that there was no unwarranted refusal to fully resolve the matter, the case involved unique issues of law, and the defendant had valid reasons to refuse to settle this matter and to litigate it to conclusion.
In re Quintiles Transnational Corp. Shareholders Litigation, 2003 NCBC 11 (N.C. Super. Ct. Dec. 19, 2003)(Tennille)
By Mack Sperling on
This opinion on attorneys’ fees was issued in tandem with the opinion in In re Wachovia Shareholders Litigation. Lawsuits had filed over a tender offer for the company, which led the Board of Directors to conduct an auction process which led to a higher price per share. Thereafter, class counsel and the defendant had…
In re Wachovia Shareholders Litigation, 2003 NCBC 10 (N.C. Super. Ct. Dec. 19, 2003)(Tennille)
By Mack Sperling on
The Court considered an award of attorneys fees following its determination that certain termination provisions of a merger agreement were invalid. This opinion was issued in tandem with opinion in In re Quintiles Transnational Shareholders Litigation.
Fee applications were made by attorneys representing a class of shareholders, as well as attorneys representing a derivative…
Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. v. Head & Enquist Equipment, L.L.C., 2003 NCBC 6 (N.C. Super. Ct. July 31, 2003)(Tennille), aff’d, 174 N.C. App. 49, 620 S.E.2d 222, disc. rev. denied, 360 N.C. 296, 629 S.E.2d 289 (2005)
By Mack Sperling on
Posted in Attorney Fees, Unfair & Deceptive Practices
This is the third of a series of cases involving Sunbelt, this one involving the successful plaintiff’s request for attorneys’ fees pursuant to N.C.G.S. §75-16.1.
Pack Brothers Body Shop, Inc. v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 2003 NCBC 2 (N.C. Super. Ct. April 1, 2003)(Tennille)
By Mack Sperling on
Posted in Attorney Fees, Unfair & Deceptive Practices
The case considered post-trial motions, after plaintiff did not prevail on its claims for defamation and unfair and deceptive practices. The court awarded costs for expert witness fees, pursuant to its discretionary authority under under N.C.G.S. §6-20. The Court also awarded attorneys’ fees pursuant to N.C.G.S. §75-16.1, which permits an award of attorneys’ fees when…
In re Senergy and Thoro Class Action Settlement, 2000 NCBC 7 (N.C. Super. Ct. )(Tennille)
By Mack Sperling on
Posted in Attorney Fees, Class Actions
The determination of reasonable attorneys’ fee under nationwide class action settlement is within the Court’s discretion. The court considered Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(b) in making its award. It rejected the percentage of fund approach given the uncertainty of the amount that might ultimately be awarded to the members of the class. Class counsel…
Long v. Abbott Laboratories, 1999 NCBC 10 (N.C. Super. Ct. July 30, 1999)(Tennille)
By Mack Sperling on
Posted in Attorney Fees, Class Actions
The Court considered an award of attorneys’ fees to class counsel, who had settled eleven separate antitrust class actions, including one in North Carolina.
The value of the settlement to the North Carolina class was slight. The Court observed that it was a cost of litigation settlement of approximately three cents on the potential dollar…
In re Senergy and Thoro Class Action Settlement, 1999 NCBC 7 (N.C. Super. Ct. July 14, 1999)(Tennille)
By Mack Sperling on
Class action counsel were entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees where the settlement had created a common fund. The Court discusses various applications to an award of fees, including the lodestar method and the percentage method, and elects to take a hybrid approach which takes into account the reasonableness of the fees under the…