A recent The Legal Intelligencer story, “Distribution of $144 Mil. in Avandia Legal Fees Approved by Judge,” reports that the judge presiding over the entire Avandia MDL has approved the distribution of nearly $144 million in Avandia attorney fees and costs undertaken for the common benefit of the entire litigation in the wake of attorneys setting objections to how the funds were divided.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania previously gave approval to the overall amount to be paid for common benefit work regarding lawsuits of people who used the diabetes drug.  When fee objections were raised to how the funds were to be distributed, Rufe appointed special fee master Bruce P. Merenstein of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis to mediate the dispute.

Merenstein said in a report to the court that nine firms had their allocations of the common benefit fund adjusted following the mediation.  As a result, Merenstein recommended that the potential recovery be approved for 58 firms.  At least six firms are looking at potential fees in excess of $10 million each, according to Merenstein’s recommendations.

The common benefit fund was seeded by a 7 percent assessment levied on all Avandia claims settled with the MDL or in state-court cases in which plaintiffs lawyers chose to receive the benefit of the discovery and other work product undertaken within the MDL.  During the hearing Rufe held on approving the common benefit attorney fees, The Legal reported that the individual plaintiffs steering committee members were carrying costs of $750,000 to $1 million.  The collective fee amount initially approved by Rufe makes up to 6.25 percent of the estimated aggregate value of the settlements in the litigation.

Dianne M. Nast, Vance R. Andrus, Bryan Aylstock, Thomas P. Cartmell, Stephen Corr, Paul R. Kiesel, Bill Robins III and Joseph J. Zonies were members of the PSC that developed the plan for the fee allocation of the common benefit fund.  The highest amounts will go to a dozen firms:

$22.6 million based upon a lodestar of $8.1 million and 18,232 hours of work by Reilly Pozner of Denver.

$17.2 million based upon a lodestar of $4.6 million and 8,407 hours of work by Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz of Pensacola, Fla.

$17.2 million based upon a lodestar of $5.8 million and 12,424 hours of work by Wagstaff & Cartmell.

$14.7 million based upon a lodestar of $3.5 million and 6,397 hours of work by Andrus Hood & Wagstaff of Denver.

For more information on this case visit http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/mdl1871.asp.