A recent Law 360 story by Brian Dowling, “Target Class Settlement Doesn’t Merit Hefty Fee, Judge Says,” reports that a Massachusetts federal judge has slashed a plaintiffs' firm's cut of a $2.3 million class action settlement with Target over harassing debt collections calls by nearly a third, saying the case wasn't as risky as lawyers claimed and not complex enough to warrant the $758,333 requested.  Approving the settlement, U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman trimmed back the fees requested by Lemberg Law LLC, citing the quick six months it took to settle.  Judge Hillman also rejected the firm's arguments that the "high risk" case warranted taking 33% of the settlement fund.

"The mere fact that there was some risk does not justify a fee request of such magnitude when contrasted with the lack of complexity of the present case and the relatively short time between the filing of the complaint and a negotiated settlement in principle," Judge Hillman wrote.  Instead, the judge awarded $523,250 to the attorneys, representing 23% of the total settlement, plus about $7,000 for expenses.  The judge gave the named plaintiff, Gabrielle Carlson, an incentive award of $7,500.  With about 5,500 claims filed as of December, that leaves enough in the settlement funds for about $315 per claim.

Lemberg said in a statement to Law360 the firm is happy the state's consumer protection statute is being enforced and "thousands of people will receive money" from the settlement.  The finalized settlement wraps up the class action that Carlson filed against Target Enterprises Inc. in 2018, claiming the retailer violated debt collection regulations and the state's consumer protection laws by calling Massachusetts residents more than twice in a single week.

Judge Hillman held the Target settlement up against a handful of others that lawyers took on contingency but still resulted in lower than a 33% cut from the overall fund.  Lemberg attorneys Sergei Lemberg and Stephen Taylor, and one paralegal, together filed for 570 hours in the case, at rates ranging from $650 for Lemberg to $125 for the paralegal, according to the order.

In addition to the case being less complicated, the firm didn't offer the court "full and specific accounting of the tasks performed by each attorney, the dates of performance, [and] a breakdown of the number of hours spent on specific tasks," Judge Hillman said, another factor that led to the court reducing the attorneys' cut.