Southern District Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s (See Profile) decision denying attorney fees on a settlement bonus in the Ground Zero litigation was upheld by a federal appeals court Monday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Hellerstein did not abuse his discretion by denying plaintiffs’ counsel from recovering a contingency attorney fee on a $55 million bonus payment triggered by settlements of some 10,000 lawsuits brought against New York City, its contractors, and the congressionally-funded WTC Captive Insurance Company for exposure to toxic dust in the rescue, recovery and cleanup at the World Trade Center.
