A recent NLJ story, “Legal Fees in Barbri Class Action Back Before Ninth Circuit,” reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is expected once again to take up a long-running antitrust case involving Barbri—this time, hearing whether fee objectors who successfully unraveled a key portion of the $49 million settlement should recover additional legal fees.  The fee request before the Ninth Circuit amounts to 20 percent on the nearly $9 million the fee objectors “saved” for the class by reducing McGuireWoods’ fees.

Five fee objectors seek close to $1.8 million in fees for objecting to the fees granted to McGuireWoods, class counsel in the settlement with West Publishing Corp. and Kaplan Inc., publishers of the Barbri bar exam review course.  U.S. District Judge Manuel Real granted $236,000 in fees and $1,700 in costs to Kendrick & Nutley.

Class counsel filed an opposition brief, noting that Kenkrick & Nutley did nothing to generate the settlement to which the fee request is based.  “Like ‘Monday Morning Quarterbacks’ who contributed absolutely nothing to the underlying contentions litigation and the $49 million hard-fought settlement … Appellants seek compensation as if they generated for the Class the fee originally awarded to McGuireWoods.  They did not,” wrote Sidney Kanazwa, a Los Angeles partner at McGuire Woods.

For more on this case visit http://www.barbri-classaction.com