A recent Law 360 story by Melissa Daniels, “8^th Circ. Affirms $2.8M Fee Award in Gym’s TCPA Settlement,” reports that an Eighth Circuit panel confirmed a $2.8 million fee award for four law firms that served as class counsel in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) multidistrict litigation against a gym, saying in a published decision that a district judge had fairly determined the award.

The case centered on text messages inviting individuals to sign up for or renew fitness memberships with a Minnesota gym called Life Time Fitness Inc.  After signing off on a settlement deal valued at a minimum of $10 million, the lower court granted the $2.8 million fee award that an objector, appellant Lindsey Thut, called excessive.

But the Eighth Circuit panel said the district court's determination was the result of pointed inquiry and careful review, and affirmed the fee award in a seven-page published opinion.  "The district court's analysis was thorough, its findings were amply supported, and it did not abuse its significant discretion by electing to use the percentage-of-the-benefit method to calculate the fee award or by determining that an award of $2.8 million in attorneys' fees and expenses was reasonable," the panel said.

Life Time Fitness in early 2015 agreed to pay up to $15 million to end consolidated TCPA lawsuits accusing the company of sending unsolicited marketing text messages.  The deal required Life Time to pay certain amounts or provide benefits depending on the claims submitted, including cash awards or a three-month gym membership. 

But the parties were unable to reach an agreement on fees and expenses, and Life Time pushed back against the class attorneys' bid for $3 billion in fees, saying that the case had required little work and settled quickly.  After a November 2015 hearing, the district court granted final approval of a settlement valued at $10 million to $15 million, and awarded a total of $2.8 million to be divvied up by the four class counsel law firms.

Thut, who had objected to the fees before the district court's final approval, asked the Eighth Circuit in December 2015 to review the award, saying it was excessive and unfair to the class.  Class counsel in return argued that the district court's analysis was thorough, the result of a lengthy hearing where the request was reviewed under the lodestar and percentage-of-the-fund models.

The Eighth Circuit panel agreed that the district court did not abuse its discretion, noting a thorough review of class counsel's records and the fact that Thut was the only objector.  "The district court reviewed the parties' submissions on the attorneys' fee issue, heard extensive argument on the matter, and considered the fees awarded and the methods used to calculate those fees in similar cases," the panel wrote.  The decision also said that the district court didn't abuse its discretion by leaving it up to class counsel on how to allocate the fees and expenses among themselves.

The case is Lindsey Thut v. Life Time Fitness Inc., case number 15-3976, in the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Eighth Circuit.