A recent Law 360 story by John Petrick, “Bernstein Litowitz Seeks $11M in Fees for $45M Waste Deal,” reports that Bernstein Litowitz asked an Illinois federal court to approve $11 million in fees for its work as lead counsel in negotiating a $45 million settlement over stockholders' claims that a solid waste hauler overstated projected earnings by ripping off customers with illegal fees.  The firm also asked for more than $190,000 in litigation expenses, like phone, copy and travel costs, as well as nearly $22,000 in fees for lead plaintiff the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi and almost $900 for co-lead plaintiff the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System for their work representing the proposed class of Stericycle Inc. stockholders.

The fees are comparable to those courts have awarded in investor class actions with similar recoveries and are fair given the time, work and energy that went into reaching the settlement, according to the motion brief.  “In light of the excellent recovery obtained, the time and effort devoted by plaintiffs’ counsel to the action, the skill and expertise required, the quality of the work performed, the wholly contingent nature of the representation, and the considerable risks that counsel undertook, lead counsel respectfully submits that the requested fee award is reasonable and should be approved by the court,” the firm said in a memorandum in support of its motion.

Word of a settlement surfaced back in December, based on information in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  A final version of the settlement still needs to be approved by the court.  The shareholders filed the case in 2016 claiming the waste disposal company falsely inflated its financial results through fraudulent pricing.  Stericycle misled investors regarding its financial and growth potential by touting revenues that were actually buoyed by "perpetrating a massive pricing fraud against its own customers," according to the complaint.