Class Action Attorneys Fees In Rules 23(e) and 23(h): Calculation, Allocation, and Valuation of Non-Cash Benefits
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will discuss the requirements of Federal Rule 23(e)(C)(iii) and 23(h) and how the proponents of a class action settlement can show that the proposed attorneys' fees are fair and reasonable under the circumstances. The program will also explore how this balancing requirement may offer opponents new opportunities to challenge the settlement (whether for good faith or greenmail purposes). The panel will review currently used factors, allocation, calculation methods, and recent cases in which settlements were rejected post-certification or fees were reduced or reversed.
Outline
- Overview of Rule 23(e)(3) and 23(h)
- Fee calculation methods
- Balancing fees against the benefit to class members and type of relief
- Red flags of collusion
- Analogies from other substantive areas of law
- Recent decisions
- Arkansas Teach Retirement Sys. v. State Street Bank and Trust Co.
- Briseno v. Henderson
- Threatt v. Farrell
Benefits
The panel will review these and other critical issues:
- Is an era of court reliance on counsel concerning attorneys' fees coming to an end?
- What structures and fee provisions are most likely to pass muster?
- Does the "adequacy" inquiry require comparing percentage awards subject to any mandatory objective calculation?
- How are fees in damages actions assessed differently than in injunctive actions?
Faculty
Stephen Herman
Partner
Herman Herman & Katz
Developing a broad civil practice, Mr. Herman has handled everything from highway defect and products liability cases,... | Read More
Developing a broad civil practice, Mr. Herman has handled everything from highway defect and products liability cases, to fire and flood loss cases, to attorney fee disputes and employment cases, to special appellate work before the Louisiana Supreme Court and other courts of appeal. In 2010, he was appointed by the Court to serve as one of two Co-Lead/Co-Liaison Counsel for all businesses, individuals and local governments involved in the Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill litigation. Herman's primary focus in recent years has been in commercial, class action, insurance coverage, and professional liability cases, representing both plaintiffs and defendants.
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Hassan Zavareei
Partner
Tycko & Zavareei
Mr. Zavareei has devoted the last eighteen years to recovering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of consumers... | Read More
Mr. Zavareei has devoted the last eighteen years to recovering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of consumers and workers. He has served in leadership roles in dozens of class action cases and has been appointed Class Counsel on behalf of numerous litigation and settlement classes. An accomplished and experienced attorney, Mr. Zavareei has litigated in state and federal courts across the nation in a wide range of practice areas; tried several cases to verdict; and successfully argued numerous appeals, including in the D.C. Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, and the Fifth Circuit.
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