A recent Law360 story by Lauraann Wood, “Attys Win $55M Fee in Purchasers’ Chicken Price-Fixing Suit,” reports that an Illinois federal judge has awarded more than $55 million in fees to class counsel who've settled direct purchasers' chicken price-fixing claims against some major producers including Tyson Foods Inc., applauding their "exemplary" performance in a case they pursued without full confidence they'd succeed.  U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin said that the fee award is proper for counsel at Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP and Pearson Simon & Warshaw LLP, who've secured more than $170 million in settlements so far for direct broiler chicken purchasers, because they invested "massive resources of time and money" into their clients' antitrust case "when no other counsel expressed interest, with little assurance of success."

For instance, the purchasers' counsel filed the first complaint in the antitrust case, which has since swelled to include two other plaintiff classes and more than 20 defendants "represented by some of the most prominent law firms in the country," Judge Durkin said.  The attorneys have also "shepherded the case through extensive discovery" and dedicated more than 100,000 hours so far to pursuing their clients' claims, he said.

Counsel also defeated those companies' bids to dismiss the direct purchasers' claims, and the 92-page dismissal decision in their favor "was a relatively close call," Judge Durkin said.  The issues raised in those dismissal proceedings also show that they're not guaranteed to succeed at class certification or summary judgment, "let alone trial," he said.

Counsel also pursued their clients' case without being able to "piggy back" off of a preceding government investigation, the judge said.  Instead, their work appears to have been the impetus for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into potentially anti-competitive conduct in the chicken industry, which has since led to some criminal indictments, he said.  "A substantial award is warranted here as a proper incentive for high quality counsel to take on complex cases, requiring a massive investment of time and money, with such a high risk of non-payment," Judge Durkin said.

The judge also awarded class counsel $4.5 million for expenses and $15,000 as incentive awards for each of the case's five named direct purchasers.  The firms' fee total represents a third of their current settlement total after deducting those expense and incentive awards, according to his order.

The direct purchasers are one of three plaintiff groups pursuing claims that poultry giants including Tyson Foods Inc. and Pilgrim's Pride Corp. conspired with their competitors to drive up the price of broiler chickens.  They've settled their claims against Tyson, Pilgrim's and certain other chicken producers, but several others are still defending themselves against the accusations.  End-user consumers in the suit, who make up one of those separate plaintiff groups, have also asked Judge Durkin for an interim $59 million fee award as their first payment for working their clients' case for several years.

The consumers' motion raises similar arguments as those addressed in the direct purchasers' April fee bid, asserting their requested fees and expenses are warranted given the time and resources they've pumped into a case that had no government investigation to guide them.  However, one consumer has objected to the request so far, arguing it's inflated by $3 million and should be rejected.