A recent Delaware Law Weekly story, by P.J. D’Annunzio, “Stage Set for $112.5M Fee Fight in NFL Concussion Case,” reports that, although the NFL concussion litigation has ended in a $1 billion settlement, a new dispute has kicked off as the players' attorneys rush to score a piece of the $112.5 million pot of legal fees.

Earlier this month, Christopher Seeger and Sol Weiss, the lead attorneys for the players, filed a request in federal court to award them the multimillion attorney fee amount along with giving Seeger the authority to pay the other lawyers involved in the case.  This prompted objections from a faction of lawyers representing roughly 30 players who asked the court to effectively stop a mad dash to the "$112.5 million table."

In a motion for a case management order filed this week, the objectors' lawyers said Seeger and Weiss were not the first to the courthouse seeking fees, but the two argued their request should go first.  "And, no wonder," the objectors motion said.  "Co-class counsel has just recently submitted an application seeking the full amount of $112.5 million."

The motion added that the objectors' lawyers had no notice that the lead attorneys would file their request for the full $112.5 million.  "If co-class counsel has unilaterally decided which attorneys are 'entitled' to an award of fees, the decision has not been communicated to this court or to the counsel involved," the motion said.

Lance Lubel, the attorney who filed the objectors' motion, said in an email that the attorney fee situation was similar in the case of the 2010 BP Horizon oil spill in that it had a clear sailing provision, but those lawyers waited four to five years until claims were paid out before asking for attorney fees.  "I don't think it will take five years for this settlement's value to the retired players to be better understood but 60 days seems a bit too fast," Lubel said.

While not directly addressing the objection relating to Seeger having autonomy over the attorney compensation process, Seeger said in a statement, "The ultimate amount the NFL parties must pay in attorneys' fees will have no impact on the monetary awards paid or baseline assessment examinations given because the NFL parties have already guaranteed these benefits, in full, to eligible claimants."

The settlement was approved by the presiding judge and upheld by an appeals court last year.  With the U.S. Supreme Court taking a pass on review of the case, the settlement was cemented.  The agreement provides payment for retired players diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can only be diagnosed by an autopsy; Alzheimer's disease; Parkinson's disease; and dementia.  In addition to monetary compensation, the NFL agreed to provide brain injury testing to players and provide payments to fund the education of concussion and sports-related brain injuries.