In a recent BLT Blog post, “Judge Approves $760M Native American Class Action Settlement” reports that U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan of Washington, DC approved $60.8 in attorney fees in an historic class action.  The case, Keepseagle v. Vilsack, alleged the government, between 1981 and 2007, denied Native American farmers and ranchers the same opportunities as others to obtain low-interest rate loans from the government. 

Sullivan called the overall settlement, $760 million, reached after more than a decade of litigation, historic, fair, and appropriate.  The settlement also calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve farm loan services.  Tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers are expected to receive compensation.  The settlement set out two tracks—one that provides the ability to recover up to $50,000 and another that allows recovery up to $250,000 based on evidence of economic loss.

The plaintiffs’ team, which included Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, Jenner & Block, Patton Boggs, and Frantz & Phelan, will split the $60.8 million fee award.  Over the objection of the Justice Department, Sullivan today awarded the maximum allowed under the agreement.  DOJ had pushed for $30.4 million in fees.  Sullivan called the plaintiffs’ legal fees – 8 percent of the settlement – on the “modest end of the range.”  Citing a colleague’s decision in 2003 in an antitrust case, Sullivan said a fee award of 15 percent is not uncommon in mega fund cases.

In a crowded courtroom in Washington, Sullivan also noted the plaintiffs’ team faced significant risk of never getting paid for their work in the case.  “There were many battles looming on the horizon if this litigation continued,” the judge said.  He noted that in a similar suit, filed by women and Hispanic farmers, judges in Washington denied class certification.  “Suffice it to say to all, congratulations.” Sullivan said from the bench.