A recent Law 360 story by Kelly Lienhard, “Judge Slashes Attys’ $4.9M Fee Bid in ICloud Storage Suit” reports that Apple will settle for $14.8 million over claims that it misled users on how iCloud services stored data after receiving final approval from a California judge, but only has to pay the class counsel standard fees despite requests from the attorneys for a higher award.

While the Northern California District Court elected to grant the full monetary amount requested by a class of iCloud subscribers, it reduced the fees awarded to Roy A. Katriel of the Katriel Law Firm PC and Azra Mehdi of the Mehdi Firm PC from $4.9 million to $3.7 million based on findings that the case was not exceptional enough to warrant giving the attorneys more than the standard payout.

"Although class counsel — who are two sole practitioners — skillfully litigated the case, it was not a sufficiently exceptional case to warrant more than the benchmark in attorney's fees," U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler wrote in the  court order.

Katriel and Mehdi had requested 33% of the settlement amount, totaling $4.9 million, based on claims that they undertook significant risks, put in a substantial amount of work and succeeded in winning excellent results for the represented consumers.  However, Apple argued that the established fee of 25%, or $3.7 million in this case, was more appropriate.

The district court agreed with the tech giant, stating that class counsel failed to show that the case was complex or novel enough to warrant departure from the typical 25% counsel award.

Katriel and Mehdi alleged that the case was "exceptionally" complex, pointing to more than four years of work including 10 depositions, seven adversarial motions and thousands of pages of complex discovery from Apple.  The lawyers added the results from their work were extraordinary, as all class members are to be paid without needing to submit a claim form.  They also pointed out that the settlement won represents more than 40% of the damages calculated by an economic expert.

The attorneys' strongest argument, according to the district court, is the $400,000 spent on working the case, which points to an increased risk.  However, Beeler said that it alone is not enough to justify departing from the typical attorney fee.