Fee Dispute Hotline
(312) 907-7275

Assisting with High-Stakes Attorney Fee Disputes

The NALFA

News Blog

Class Counsel Earn $1.3M in Fees in Pipe Price Fixing Class Action

June 14, 2018 | Posted in : Expenses / Costs, Fee Award, Fee Award Factors, Fee Request, Hourly Rates, Practice Area: Class Action / Mass Tort / MDL

A recent Law 360 story by Bill Wichert, “Attys Awarded $1.3M Fees in Pipe Price Fixing Class Action,” reports that counsel for indirect purchasers of ductile iron pipe fittings have won a New Jersey federal judge's approval for roughly $1.3 million in attorneys' fees in a consolidated class action against three suppliers over price-fixing claims, representing one-third of the combined settlements with the companies.  U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson approved the fees request from those plaintiffs' lawyers, citing the attorneys' "vigorous and effective pursuit" of the claims against Sigma Corp., Star Pipe Products Ltd. and McWane Inc.

By granting the fee request, the judge said she considered "the complexity and duration of the litigation" and "the amount of time devoted to the case by [the indirect purchaser plaintiffs'] counsel," among other factors.  "The court finds that the requested fee of one-third of the total amount of the Star, Sigma and McWane settlements is fair and reasonable and within the range of fees ordinarily awarded in this district and throughout the Third Circuit," Judge Thompson said in her order.

In addition to the $1.36 million in attorneys' fees, the judge approved the lawyers' requests for reimbursement of $87,270.35 in litigation expenses and service awards of $15,000 each for eight class representatives, including Yates Construction Co. in North Carolina and the city of Hallandale Beach, Florida.  Judge Thompson found that the litigation expenses were "necessary, reasonable and proper in the pursuit of this litigation."

In granting the service awards, the judge said, "The proposed class representatives were extensively involved in this case and devoted substantial time and energy to their duties, including working with counsel to understand the workings of the [ductile iron pipe fitting] market, collecting relevant documents, responding to interrogatories and preparing and sitting for depositions."

The attorneys' fees, litigation expenses and service awards will be paid from the total settlement funds of $4.07 million in the case, court documents state.

The attorneys for the indirect purchasers include interim co-lead counsel at Kirby McInerney LLP, Kohn Swift & Graf PC and Weinstein Kitchenoff & Asher LLC, and interim liaison counsel at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP.

The indirect purchaser plaintiffs, who initially filed the lawsuits in 2012, have alleged that Sigma, Star Pipe and McWane took part in an unlawful scheme to raise and fix prices for ductile iron pipe fittings that were sold throughout the U.S., alleging antitrust violations under state and federal law, including the Sherman and Clayton acts.  The indirect purchasers accused the three manufacturers of conspiring to keep prices high for ductile iron pipe fittings used in municipal drinking water and wastewater systems.

In June 2015, the indirect purchaser plaintiffs reached settlements with Sigma and Star Pipe for $2.01 million and $641,250, respectively, court documents state.  About a year later, Judge Thompson certified the settlement classes and granted final approval of those deals.  The indirect purchaser plaintiffs and McWane reached a $1.43 million settlement last year, court documents state.  Judge Thompson certified the settlement class and granted final approval of that settlement.

As part of their attorneys' fees bid, the interim co-lead counsel argued last month in a brief that they and other law firms working under their oversight "have devoted 9,414.70 hours developing and advancing the plaintiffs' claims."  Those efforts included investigating the ductile iron pipe fittings industry, working with class representatives to draft and file complaints, submitting briefs and presenting arguments on motions, preparing for and defending depositions and negotiating separate settlements with the defendants, according to the brief.

"Plaintiffs' counsel's fee request is reasonable and consistent with fee awards in this circuit, particularly in light of the length and complexity of this case, the nature and extent of plaintiffs' counsel's efforts in litigating the case and, in the end, negotiating substantial settlements, and the litigation risks assumed," the brief states.

Robert S. Kitchenoff of Weinstein Kitchenoff & Asher LLC, an attorney representing the indirect purchasers, told Law360 in a statement, "Class counsel and the named class representatives aggressively and effectively represented the interests of the members of the class, and are gratified by the court’s recognition of those efforts."

The case is In Re Ductile Iron Pipe Fittings Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, case number 3:12-cv-00169, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.