Judge Brian Cogan
District court approved class action settlement in April. Stevens and Johnson—allegedly "professional objectors" from Texas—appealed settlement. They opposed the class plaintiffs' motion for a $132,500 appeal bond comprising: $25,000 for printing and distributing the record; $50,000 in attorney fees; and, $57,500 to cover administrative and communication costs for the year needed to resolve the appeal. The court ordered Stevens and Johnson to post a $55,000 bond. Discussing the four considerations outlined in Curtis & Associates v. Law Offices of David M. Bushman, the court—which had not entered an order approving attorney fees—found it troubling and "indicative of a lack of good faith" that Stevens and Johnson appealed a non-existent order. In setting the bond at $55,000 the court noted plaintiffs' unexplained request for $25,000 in costs under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 39 was excessive and that $5,000 was sufficient. Discussing the Second Circuit's ruling in In re AOL Time Warner Securities and "ERISA" Litigation, the court observed that no statute underlying the litigation authorized inclusion of $57,500 in delay costs in an appeal bond.
