A recent New York Law Journal story, “Judge OKs $7 Million in Fees in Citibank Class Action,” reports that a federal judge has approved more than $7 million in attorney fees for the plaintiffs’ counsel in a class action claim against Citibank, its affiliates and other defendants accused of making homeowners buy excessive insurance coverage.

Northern District Judge David Hurd, ruling from Utica, signed off on the attorney fee award on Aug. 22 and Oct. 1.  He noted in both motions that none of the defendants objected to the proposed fees sought by the class counsel led by Nichols Kaster in Minneapolis and Berger & Montague in Philadelphia.  Gilman Law of Bonita Springs, Fla., and Taus Cebulash & Landau of Manhattan also represented the plaintiffs.

Attorneys reported spending more than 4,700 hours on the litigation in Casey v. Citigroup and in a similar case that was consolidated before Hurd, Coonan v. Citigroup.

Under the settlement to which Hurd agreed in August, Citibank will make $110 million available to compensate consumers for what plaintiffs claimed were unnecessary insurance purchases between 2006 and February 2014.  Just over 400,000 consumers were identified as potentially being in the class.

Citibank argued that federal banking statutes required special insurance coverages for residences located in high-risk areas, such as flood plains, and it denied receiving kickbacks from insurers who wrote polices for mortgage-holders.

Other defendants in the suit were Assurant, American Security Insurance Co., Standard Guaranty Insurance Co., MidFirst Bank and FirstInsure.