| State/Date Fee Announced |
Payments to State |
Awards to Lawyers |
Panel Vote |
Litigation Status |
Law Firms |
Mississippi
12/11/1998 |
$4.1 billion |
$1.4 billion |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 5/94. First state to sue.
Settled 7/97, before trial. |
Richard Scruggs; Ness Motley |
Florida
12/11/98 |
$13.2 billion |
$3.4 billion |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 2/95. Settled 8/97, before trial. |
Nine Florida firms plus Scruggs; Ness Motley |
Texas
12/11/1998 |
$17.365 billion |
$3.299 billion |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 3/96. Settled 1/98, before trial. |
Five Texas firms plus Scruggs; Ness Motley |
Massachusetts
7/29/1999 |
$8.3 billion |
$775 million |
2-1; Huge dissents, favors $1.5 billion fee |
Filed 12/95. Fifth state to sue. Trial set for 2/99; summary judgment motions argued. Lawyers had 25% fee contract. |
Ness Motley; Lieff, Cabraser; four Boston firms. Lawyers suing to enforce contract |
Hawaii
9/8/1999 |
$1.38 billion |
$90 million |
Unanimous |
Filed 1/97. Survived motion to dismiss. No depositions taken. |
Ness Motley; Scruggs; four Hawaii firms |
Illinois
10/7/1999 |
$9.3 billion |
$121 million |
Unanimous |
Filed 11/96. Survived motion to dismiss. No depositions. |
Hagens Berman; Lieff, Cabraser; two other firms. Lawyers suing to enforce 10% contingency contract |
Iowa
12/29/1999 |
$1.9 billion |
$85 million |
Unanimous |
Filed 11/96. Medicaid reimbursement claim dismissed; upheld by Iowa Supreme Court. |
Ness Motley; six other firms |
Louisiana
1/31/2000 |
$4.6 billion |
$575 million |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 3/96. Sued tobacco's insurers; removed to federal court. Little progress. |
Seventeen firms |
Kansas
1/31/2000 |
$1.767 billion |
$54 million |
Unanimous |
Filed 8/96. Won key privilege issue. |
Ness Motley; Scruggs; two Kansas firms |
Ohio
5/8/2000 |
$10.1 billion |
$265 million |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 5/97. No depositions taken or documents produced. |
Ness Motley; Scruggs; and five other firms |
Oklahoma
5/17/2000 |
$2 billion |
$250 million |
Unanimous |
Filed 8/96. Significant discovery and trial prep. |
Ness Motley; Scruggs; four Oklahoma firms |
Puerto Rico
6/7/2000 |
$2.2 billion |
$75 million |
Unanimous |
Filed 6/97. Credit given for increasing commonwealth's settlement share. |
Ness Motley; Scruggs; two local firms |
New Mexico
8/21/2000 |
$1.25 billion |
$24.5 million |
2-1; Plaintiffs representative, Jim Carrigan dissents |
Filed 5/97. Not much progress. |
Two local firms |
South Carolina
10/23/2000 |
$2.3 billion |
$82.5 million |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 5/97. After nine months, AG told lawyers to stop work. |
Ness Motley |
Utah
10/25/2000 |
$1 billion |
$64.85 million |
Unanimous |
Filed 9/96. Modest contribution to MSA; counsel had 25% contract. |
Giauque, Crockett, Bendinger & Peterson (Salt Lake City); Ness Motley |
California
3/5/2001 |
$25 billion (split evenly between state and cities and counties) |
$637.5 million |
Unanimous |
Cases brought by counties, cities, and private AGs. Trial date for some set for early '99. |
Milberg, Weiss; Lieff, Cabraser; two other California firms |
Michigan
9/7/2001 |
$8.7 billion |
$450 million |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 8/96. State AG's staff handled most of the work. |
Ness Motley; Scruggs |
New York
10/23/2001 |
$25 billion |
$625 million |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 1/97. Outside counsel not retained until 9/97. |
Ness Motley; Scruggs; Hagens Berman; three local firms |
Davis/Ellis
7/15/2002 |
$0 |
$1.25 billion |
2-1; Renfrew dissents |
Filed 6/96. Fourth private AG suit in California. Not included in master settlement. |
Castano Group |
| Awards are still to be announced for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Missouri. |
| Source: Fee arbitration panel decisions |
| (The American Lawyer, December 2002) |
And the Winners Are . . .
