Fee

Lawyers Who Sued Volkswagen Over Emissions Want $175 Million

Lawyers who won the massive $10.03 billion class-action settlement from Volkswagen Group over software that cheated on emissions tests now want their own payday: $175 million. The extraordinary sum requires extraordinary justification, and lead plaintiffs’ counsel Elizabeth Cabraser hopes her firm’s motion (PDF) on the matter, filed late last night with the judge, will do the trick. “The aggregate fees and costs award… is the equivalent of less than 2 percent of the monetary benefit provided to the Class, far below the …


Questions Arise Surrounding $555.2 Million Award to Deepwater Horizon Plaintiffs’ Attorneys

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, has sided with the findings of a court-appointed fee committee and awarded $555.2 million to the 107 law firms handling the multi-district litigation (MDL) suit against BP for its role in the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. The committee, whose creation both parties agreed to, …


Phony Fees Net Comcast Billions, Class Says

A federal class action claims Comcast has bilked cable TV customers out of $1 billion a year since 2014 by charging phony fees for broadcast and sports channels. Plaintiffs from seven states — California, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, Florida and Ohio — sued the cable giant on Monday, alleging consumer fraud, unfair competition, unjust enrichment and breach of …


Cities Facing Increasing Lawsuits Over Fees

Class action lawsuits against municipalities are becoming more common, particularly those over water and sewer billing. Litigation attorney Soni Mithani, a Principal at Miller Canfield in Ann Arbor, took time to educate officials about these types of suits at the Michigan Municipal …


More Than 300 Manhattan Parking Lots Sued for Charging $2 Fee

Two parking chains that control more than 300 garages in Manhattan were hit with class action lawsuits in Manhattan Supreme Court this week for charging customers an extra $2 if they use credit cards to pay for temporary parking. Icon Parking and Quik Park tack on the “processing fee” for credit card customers paying the hourly rate unless they arrive early enough to get the early bird special. …


Another Uber Settlement Rejected, This Time Over Riders’ Fee

Uber Technologies Inc. was dealt a second rejection of a legal settlement, this time in a case over claims the company misled riders when it charged them a $1 “safe rides fee” that earned the company almost half a billion dollars. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco said the proposed $28.5 million payout wasn’t enough for customers, considering how much Uber took in from the fees. …


Op-Ed: Calif. Supreme Court Rubber Stamps Excessive Class Action Attorneys’ Fees

Calif. Supreme Court rubber stamps excessive class action attorneys’ fees By Lawrence W. Schonbrun Class actions are a judicially created mechanism to protect the “little guys” from abuse by powerful institutions, corporations, and governments. In a regrettable decision, however, the California Supreme Court has refused to protect the rights and interests of class members by allowing the very …


ERISA Excessive Fee Lawsuits Hit 403(b) Plans of Higher Education Institutions

Not surprisingly, in its most recent round of “excessive fee” lawsuits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the plaintiffs’ bar has begun targeting 403(b) plans sponsored by higher education institutions such as Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, and Duke University. Cases like Tibble v. Edison …



St. Louis City Settles Municipal Court Fees Suit for $750K

The City of St. Louis must refund $750,400 to the 21,000 people who paid “warrant recall fees” in the past seven years. On July 19, St. Louis Circuit Court Judge David Dowd gave final approval on a class-action lawsuit settlement with the city – which also deemed that St. Louis can never charge these fees again. In St. Louis, if you missed a court date regarding a warrant fee, the court would …