Fee Dispute Hotline
(312) 907-7275

Assisting with High-Stakes Attorney Fee Disputes

The NALFA

News Blog

Fee Allocation Dispute in Abbott Labs Settlement

January 24, 2013 | Posted in : Fee Dispute

A recent Thomson Reuters News story, “Fee Dispute Over $1.5B Abbott Laboratories Settlement,” reports New York law firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz has sued Delaware plaintiffs’ firm Grant & Eisenhofer over legal fees generated by a $1.5 billion settlement between Abbott Laboratories and government authorities.  In a lawsuit filed Friday in New York Supreme Court, Wolf Haldenstein claimed that Grant Eisenhofer had failed to pay Wolf Haldenstein its fair share, or at least $150,000, of the settlement’s legal fees.

The federal whistle-blower suit concerned alleged off-label promotion by Abbott Laboratories of Depakote to treat dementia and schizophrenia, for which the prescription drug had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  In May 2012, Abbott agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement with federal and state governments, the third-largest payment by a pharmaceutical company in a lawsuit.

According to Wolf Haldenstein, former partner Reuben Guttman originated the lawsuit, but left Wolf Haldenstein in July 2007 to join Grant Eisenhofer, bringing the litigation with him.  Wolf Haldenstein claimed its lawyers and support staff were responsible for 267 hours of legal work associated with drafting the lawsuit.  The work included analyzing thousands of pages of Abbott’s documents and emails obtained through a whistle-blower, researching legal issues and developing claims theories of liability, according to the suit.  Wolf Haldenstein claimed it is owed at least $150,000 out of the “millions of dollars” in legal fees Grant Eisenhofer earned in the settlement.