A recent Thomson Reuters story, “Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Seek $146M in Fees in Citi Case,” reports that lawyers who secured a $730 million class action settlement for Citigroup Inc investors have asked a federal judge to approve $146 in attorney fees and $7.29 million in expenses.  The fees, requested by Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann, would be the tenth largest ever to lawyers in a federal securities class action, according to NERA Economic Consulting.  The fee request amounts to 20 percent of the settlement.

The award, if approved, would be the largest payout for Berstein Litowitz in a case stemming from the financial crisis, after a federal judge in April approved $160.5 million in fees and expenses for the law firms and two others in a $2.43 billion settlement with Bank of America.  The settlement resolves claims by investors in Citigroup bonds and preferred stock.  The investors accused the bank of misstating the value of its collateralized debt obligations and understanding its loss revenues by tens of billions of dollars between 2006 and mid-November 2008.

Bernstein Litowitz called the $730 million settlement “an outstanding result” for its clients, representing a “substantial percentage” of the investors’ likely recoverable damages.  The settlement ranked as the second largest in a class action by debt holders and the third largest in a case that did not involve a financial restatement, Bernstein Litowitz said.  It is also among the 15 largest securities class action settlement in U.S. history, the firm said in its fee motion.

The settlement on behalf of bondholders is separate from a $590 million accord reached by Citi shareholders stemming from similar claims.  In that case, Stein is weighing a $100 million fee request by Kirby McInerney.  The case is In re Citigroup Inc Bond Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.  For more information, visit http://www.blbglaw.com/cases/00121.