A recent Law 360 story by Mike LaSusa, “Blank Rome Says Andrus Wagstaff Owes Pelvic Mesh Fees,” reports that Blank Rome LLP has sued Andrus Wagstaff PC in Pennsylvania federal court, saying it is "beyond argument" that Andrus Wagstaff owes the Philadelphia-based firm nearly half a million dollars in fees related to multidistrict litigation concerning allegedly defective pelvic mesh implants.  Blank Rome claimed in a lawsuit that it was hired by Andrus Wagstaff to help increase the amount of attorney fees the Colorado-headquartered firm was awarded for its work on massive multidistrict litigation that accused Boston Scientific Corp. of making defective pelvic mesh implants.

According to Blank Rome's lawsuit, a court-appointed committee had initially recommended setting aside $8,715,000 in attorney fees for Andrus Wagstaff.  Blank Rome claims its work helped raise Andrus Wagstaff's take to a total of $13 million.  Blank Rome says it therefore boosted Andrus Wagstaff's fees by $4,895,000, which should entitle Blank Rome to a $489,500 incentive fee pursuant to an agreement between the two firms.  But according to the suit, Andrus Wagstaff hasn't lived up to its promise.

"Andrus Wagstaff has continued to refuse to provide payment to Blank Rome for the full amount of its performance incentive fee, going so far as to attempt to insert new language into the parties' agreement — in violation of basic rules of contract construction — in an effort to avoid paying Blank Rome's fee in its entirety," the suit says.

Blank Rome argues that the fee agreement it entered with Andrus Wagstaff provided that the firm would give Andrus Wagstaff "an across-the-board 25% discount of Blank Rome's standard hourly base fees."  Additionally, Blank Rome says it was supposed to get an incentive fee amounting to 3% of any attorney fee increase between $1 million and $2 million, 6% of any increase between $2 and $4 million, or 10% of any increase over $4 million.

However, according to a letter from founding partner Aimee Wagstaff cited in the complaint, Andrus Wagstaff disputed Blank Rome's assertion that it won an increase of $4,895,000.  Instead, Andrus Wagstaff claimed Blank Rome could only take credit for $3,285,000 of the increase.  Moreover, Andrus Wagstaff interpreted the agreement to mean Blank Rome would get 3% of the first $2 million of the increase — in other words, $60,000 — plus 6% of the remaining $1.285 million increase, or $77,100.

Blank Rome wants the court to declare that its interpretation of the fee agreement is correct.  The firm is also making a claim of breach of contract against Andrus Wagstaff, and it wants $489,500 in damages plus attorney fees and costs.