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Mealey's Attorney Fees

  • July 23, 2025

    Judge Awards $98,280 In Attorney Fees For Asbestos Screening Appeal

    MISSOULA, Mont. —  BNSF Railway Co. is entitled to $98,280 in attorney fees on appeal after prevailing in its case alleging that a medical screening company submitted false claims to a Medicare program for Libby, Mont., residents diagnosed with asbestos-related disease, a Montana federal judge ruled.

  • July 22, 2025

    Panel Affirms Ruling Denying Attorney Fees To Guaranty Fund In Coverage Row

    CHICAGO — An Illinois appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling denying a motion for attorney fees and costs filed by the Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund in a workers’ compensation coverage dispute, agreeing with the lower court’s ruling because neither state law nor the insurance policy provides for awarding attorney fees or costs in this action seeking a declaration of coverage.

  • July 22, 2025

    State, Federal Suits Over Health Care Firm’s Data Breach Settle For $6.5 Million

    ST. LOUIS — A Missouri state court judge granted final approval to an agreement that settles lawsuits against a health management services firm from two state courts and a federal court with a settlement fund of $6.5 million and attorney fees of $2 million.

  • July 22, 2025

    Judge Approves Injunctive Relief-Only Settlement Of CareFirst Data Breach Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge granted final approval to a settlement that resolved the lone remaining claim against CareFirst Inc. in a decade-old class action over a 2014 data breach, deeming the agreement, which provides only injunctive relief for the consolidated class, “fair, reasonable, and adequate.”

  • July 21, 2025

    7th Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment In ERISA Delinquent Contributions Row

    ST. LOUIS — Concluding that there is a genuine dispute regarding an agent’s “intent to be personally bound by the terms of the trust agreement,” the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment against the sole member of a dissolved company in a multiemployer plan Employee Retirement Income Security Act case, also vacating an associated award of attorney fees.

  • July 18, 2025

    Alabama Supreme Court Reverses $174,987 Cost, Fee Award For Additional Explanation

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Supreme Court has reversed a trial court’s award of $174,987 in attorney fees and costs for the victorious defendant in a commercial lease lawsuit and remanded the issue to the trial court for more adequate support of the award.

  • July 18, 2025

    New Mexico Supreme Court Reverses, Remands Attorney Fee Award In Workers’ Comp Case

    SANTA FE, N.M. — Under the attorney fee provision of the state Workers’ Compensation Act, “a subsequent injury that flows from a primary workplace injury may constitute a ‘single accidental injury’” and a worker may collect the $22,500 fee cap for the primary injury and any subsequent accidental injuries, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled, reversing an award of attorney fees and remanding to the workers’ compensation judge.

  • July 17, 2025

    Denial Of Postjudgment Fees For Class Counsel In Coupon Settlement Upheld

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a trial court’s ruling that class counsel’s postjudgment attorney fees motion was untimely following a settlement by a massage and skin care franchisor accused of violating its membership agreement by periodically increasing membership fees.

  • July 17, 2025

    Judge OKs Employee Data Pact, Cuts Attorney Fees Request Of 1.6 Times Recovery

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a class settlement in an employee data case but slashed the requested attorney fee award from 1.6 times the gross settlement amount to 25% of the net settlement fund, opining that while the class members’ recovery was “not inhibit[ed]” by the request and the agreement containing a clear-sailing provision was “non-collusive,” such a request could not be considered “reasonable.”

  • July 15, 2025

    Student-Athletes’ Counsel Awarded Hundreds Of Millions In Fees After NIL Settlement

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California awarded attorneys representing student-athletes, who settled for more than $2.5 billion name, image and likeness (NIL) claims with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and five conferences, hundreds of millions of dollars in attorney fees now as well as the opportunity for two types of future yearly fees; the judge also approved more than $9 million in costs and granted class counsel’s request for service awards of $5,000 to $125,000 for each of the class representatives.

  • July 14, 2025

    Case Disputing Attorney Fees In Benicar MDL Sent Back To New Jersey District Court

    PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 11 sent a dispute over the amount of attorney fees awarded to a law firm for its work in the Benicar multidistrict litigation back to a New Jersey federal court, finding that the lower court erred in denying a motion to remand.

  • July 14, 2025

    Nevada High Court Says Attorney Fees Award Not Based On Substantial Evidence

    LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Supreme Court remanded a trial court’s award of attorney fees as a sanction for a plaintiff’s failure to produce documents in a dispute over a property sale after determining that the amount of the trial court’s award was not based on substantial evidence as required under Nevada law.

  • July 11, 2025

    Contractor’s Insurer Must Defend Developers For Water, Other Damages

    LOS ANGELES — A contractor’s commercial general liability insurer agreed to defend the developers of a residential development as additional insureds, and the homeowners’ subsequent filing of an action alleging that the contractor’s improper installation of concrete flatwork and foundation systems caused water intrusion and other damage to their homes triggered the insurer’s duty to defend, a federal judge in California ruled.

  • July 11, 2025

    5th Circuit Affirms Special Ed Decision, Awards Parent Attorney Fees

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court ruling finding that a Mississippi school district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the lower court’s denial of compensatory educational services to a student and the court’s finding that the parent was entitled to attorney fees as the prevailing party under the federal law.

  • July 09, 2025

    Settlement Of Derivative Complaint Against Peloton Over Safety Approved

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A federal magistrate judge in New York gave final approval to a settlement of a consolidated shareholder derivative action brought against current and former Peloton Interactive Inc. officers and directors that requires Peloton to make corporate governance enhancements regarding product safety.

  • July 09, 2025

    10th Circuit Won’t Award Attorney Fees For Presuit Appeal In LTD Benefits Row

    DENVER — Affirming dismissal of a case filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 8 rejected a bid to make a long-term disability (LTD) insurer pay attorney fees for an administrative appeal that got benefits reinstated.

  • July 09, 2025

    Attorney Fees In Broiler Chicken Antitrust Case Modified, More Settlements OK’d

    CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed with modification attorney fees awarded to counsel for the end user consumer plaintiff (EUCP) class in an antitrust case accusing broiler sellers of fixing the prices for chicken, opining that class counsel were entitled to 26.6% of the net common fund; the panel’s ruling was filed two days after another group of settlements between the EUCPs and a number of sellers totaling $22.35 million was granted final approval by a federal judge in Illinois.

  • July 07, 2025

    3rd Circuit Affirms $3.2M In Attorney Fees, Costs In Wawa Data Breach Suit

    PITTSBURGH — Assessing a trial court judge’s review on remand of a $3.2 million attorney fees and costs award to consumers’ class counsel in a class action over Wawa Inc.’s 2019 data breach, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld the judge’s finding that the award did not contain a clear sailing agreement and was not the result of collusion.

  • June 30, 2025

    Judge Enters Injunction In Penn State Trademark Case, Denies Attorney Fees

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — After a jury found in favor of The Pennsylvania State University on its trademark claims against an apparel maker, a Pennsylvania federal judge issued a permanent injunction against the clothier barring it from using the university’s trademarked logos or phrases on apparel items.

  • June 30, 2025

    Ex-Congressman Seeks High Court Review In Attorney Fee Spat Over Precedent Clash

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former congressman filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that affirmed a district court’s ruling that granted defendants $740,710 in attorney fees in a case that hinged on allegations of harassment and defamation; the former congressman argues that the 11th Circuit erred in upholding the lower court decision by contravening federal statutes, disregarding a doctrine that mandates the application of state substantive law and federal procedural law in diversity cases and contrasting precedents established by the Florida Supreme Court.

  • June 26, 2025

    Montana High Court Affirms Verdict In Home Sale Case, Remands For Fee Sanction

    HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court has affirmed a $73,900 special verdict in a case involving the alleged sale of a home belonging to a developmentally disabled man, but the high court remanded the case for the awarding of full costs and attorney fees as a sanction for defending against an original complaint that the plaintiff dropped on the eve of trial.

  • June 26, 2025

    $45 Million Settlement Of Suits Over MGM Data Breaches Gets Final Approval

    LAS VEGAS — A $45 million settlement of a consolidated class action against MGM Resorts International over two data breach incidents that provides for payments of up to $15,000 in documented losses for class members was declared “fundamentally fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class” by a Nevada federal judge, as she granted final approval to the agreement.

  • June 26, 2025

    Nebraska High Court Affirms Default Judgment, Attorney Fee Sanctions In Fraud Row

    LINCOLN, Neb. — Noting a trial court’s finding that a group of parties accused of fraud engaged in “repeated discovery violations” and “inexcusable recalcitrance,” the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld an award of more than $2 million in default judgment for the plaintiff-appellees, as well as an attorney fees award exceeding $180,000.

  • June 25, 2025

    Judge Issues Final Approval Order For $69M Settlement Of Target Date Funds Case

    MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge on June 24 entered final approval and awards orders in a case concluded by a $69 million deal that the class representative called “the largest-ever ERISA settlement alleging breach of fiduciary duty for failure to remove underperforming investment options.”

  • June 25, 2025

    1st Circuit Partly Reverses Ruling In Coverage Suit Over Hurricane Maria Damage

    BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower federal court’s denial of an insurer’s postverdict motion to reduce a jury’s $873,000 contractual damages award and to set aside a jury’s $250,000 consequential damages award in a Hurricane Maria coverage dispute and affirmed the lower court’s denial of the insured’s postverdict motion for attorney fees and prejudgment interest.