A recent Law 360 story by Michael Macagnone, “Hausfeld, Susman Win $63M in Attys’ Fees in Libor MDL” reports that Susman Godfrey LLP and Hausfeld LLP won nearly $63 million in attorneys' fees out of a $340 million settlement resolving allegations in multidistrict litigation that Deutsche Bank AG and HSBC Inc. were involved in a scheme to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate for short-term loans.  The $62.8 million in fees, which according to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald’s order come from the settlement amount, are to be distributed by Susman and Hausfeld, the two primary firms representing the class of over-the-counter investors who were exposed to the allegedly doctored Libor rate outside of a stock exchange.  The order came a day after Judge Buchwald signed off on the $100 million HSBC agreement and $240 million Deutsche Bank agreement with the class.

Judge Buchwald’s order granted the requested fees without change from an August motion, along with more than $600,000 in reimbursement for expenses.  In an August memorandum supporting the proposed fees, the attorneys argued they have so far won more than $500 million in settlements for their clients from various banks in the alleged scheme and the fee amounted to less than 20 percent of the latest settlement.  The MDL is on remand from the Second Circuit, which reversed Judge Buchwald’s 2013 ruling that the plaintiffs had not experienced an antitrust injury since the Libor-setting process was not supposed to be about competition in the first place.

Judge Buchwald granted class certification to the over-the-counter plaintiffs, such as the city of Baltimore, in late February, finding that investors between 2007 and 2010 made similar claims about Libor suppression and other common issues.  The class struck the deal with Deutsche Bank around the same time.  The deal with HSBC followed in March.  Judge Buchwald had indicated approval for attorneys' fees and expenses totaling 18.5 percent, or $63.3 million.

The first bank to settle in the MDL was Barclays Bank PLC, which struck a $120 million agreement in 2016.  Citigroup Inc. reached a $130 million settlement in 2017.  In those deals, attorneys got a combined $58.4 million in attorneys' fees and expenses after reducing their request from Barclays.  The same four banks have also settled, in a separate $152 million deal, MDL claims that their Libor manipulation hurt exchange-based investors.

The case is In Re: Libor-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, case number 1:11-md-02262, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.