A recent BLT blog post, “Lawyers in Black Farmers Case Renew Request for $90M in Fees,” reports that the attorneys who secured a $1.25 billion settlement for black farmers in a high-profile discrimination case in Washington renewed their fee request for $90.8 million in legal fees, the highest amount allowed under the deal.  The lead class counsel filed an updated fee request (pdf) in Washington’s federal court, arguing that the amount constitutes “fair and appropriate compensation for the enormous amount of work class counsel have performed” and for the results achieved in the deal.

The settlement, which Congress approved and the president signed, provides money to tens of thousands of black farmers who missed out on an earlier deal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture over claims of discrimination in loan processing.  “The complexity of the settlement agreement that was reached demonstrates the skill level required by counsel to establish terms that would ensure that the claims of class members are resolved fairly, efficiently and with integrity,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote in their fee petition.

The Justice Department has said in court papers in the litigation that the government opposes an award of $90.8 million in fees.  In the updated fee petition, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said they conducted 380 group meetings in 66 cities during the claim process.  The petition said class counsel have reported more than 80,000 attorney hours in litigation and in the implementation of the claims process.

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman last year approved the settlement, kicking off the claims process.  The settlement set the fee award between 4.1 percent and 7.4 percent.  The law firms and solo practitioners in the case have a separate fee allocation agreement (pdf) to divide up any fee award.  The lead class counsel firm, Crowell & Moring is in the group that would keep and divide 75 percent up of any fee award.

For more information, visit https://www.blackfarmercase.com//