Class action plaintiffs lawyers know that most judges won’t simply rubber-stamp a request for attorney fees in the wake of a big settlement, which is why fee motions always recite a familiar litany: The litigation was hard fought; the settlement was a great result for the class; the requested fees are in line with awards in similar cases; etc.
But as Legal affiliate The American Lawyer reported back in July, the usual formula didn’t cut it with the federal judge in Philadelphia overseeing nationwide price-fixing litigation related to eggs and egg products. Fifteen months after co-lead counsel for a class of direct egg purchasers asked for $7.5 million in fees for reaching a $25 million settlement with Land O’Lakes and two affiliates, U.S. District Judge Gene Pratter of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sent the lawyers to come up with 15 categories of additional material to support their motion. The judge’s order seeking a point-by-point accounting of billing rates and hours and details about behind-the-scenes dealmaking between the plaintiffs firms appeared to be unprecedented in its scope, especially since there was no record of any objections to the settlement.
