Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd had something to say to a federal district court judge who’s presiding over a shareholder class action against travel company Ambassadors Group, Inc.: We’re sorry.
In February, Judge Justin Quackenbush took Robbins Geller to task over the firm’s request for $2.1 million in fees and expenses related to a $7.5 million class settlement in the case. The judge, who sits in Spokane, questioned whether the firm and partners Joy Ann Bull and John Grant should be sanctioned or referred for disciplinary proceedings for allegedly overstating their expenses. He also chided the firm for “unblushingly” itemizing costs like an expensive wine-fueled dinner in Newport Beach, California. The judge’s order came in a securities class action that Robbins Geller filed in 2009 against Spokane-based Ambassadors, which specializes in student travel and was accused of misleading investors by not disclosing that it had lost access to the addresses of middle schools.
