A recent Law 360 story by Mike Curley, “Class Counsel Gets $36.5M in Navistar Engine Settlement,” reports that an Illinois federal judge has approved $36.5 million in attorney fees as part of a $135 million settlement that ends litigation against Navistar alleging the company sold diesel engines with defective emissions systems.  U.S. District Judge Joan B. Gottschall granted final approval of the settlement, saying the attorney fees are reasonable in light of the 74,000 hours poured into the case by 15 firms that represented the class of truck owners.

In addition to the attorney fees, the judge approved $3.5 million in reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs for class counsel and $25,000 service awards for each of the 29 named plaintiffs, or $725,000 total.  "After many years of hard-fought litigation, we're happy that Judge Gottschall — recognizing the quality of this settlement and the work that went into achieving it — granted our fee and expense request in its entirety," Adam Levitt of DiCello Levitt Gutzler, co-lead counsel in the case litigation, told Law360.  "We look forward to continuing to work with class members in implementing the settlement and distributing the substantial relief that we obtained."

The final approval comes two weeks after, Judge Gottschall signed off on the $135 million settlement, which ends litigation brought by truck drivers who claim that 2010-13 model year MaxxForce 11 and 13 Advanced "Exhaust Gas Recirculation" diesel engines have a defectively designed integrated emissions system.  Class members have three options for compensation under the deal. They can choose a lump payment of up to $2,500, a rebate option of up to $10,000 to buy a new Navistar truck or recoup up to $15,000 in out-of-pocket costs from repairs related to the alleged defects in their vehicles.

For the purposes of the settlement, the judge certified the class as anyone who owned or leased the 2011-2014 model vehicles equipped with the MaxxForce 11- or 13-liter engines at issue in the suit before Aug. 11, 2019.