For a class of older television writers suing studios, networks and talent agencies for age discrimination, a $70 million settlement reached in 2010 was a happy ending. For the writers’ lawyers, though, it was only the opening act in a story line that might seem cliché to some of their clients a fight over money.
Next month, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals will hear arguments on whether an arbitrator hired to divvy up the more than $23 million awarded in fees to class counsel exceeded his authority. Courts are historically loath to undo arbitration awards, but the case offers a behind-the-scenes look at a fee fight that attorneys had hoped to keep under wraps.
