GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge entered the final judgment approving a $600 million settlement between the State of Michigan and thousands of Flint residents who were exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water, handing a taxpayer-funded $180 million fee award to private lawyers who led the litigation.
Saying “there is no just reason for delay,” U.S. District Judge Judith Levy ended the long-running case, which drew fierce criticism from objectors who said the private lawyers were overpaid for their work. Judge Levy awarded them roughly 25% of the settlement, including a $40 million “common benefit” fee to lead attorneys including Levy Konigsberg, Napoli Shkolnick, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and Pitt McGhee Palmer & Rivers.
“The partial settlement should be implemented promptly,” the judge wrote in her 85-page order dismissing the underlying lawsuits. She retained jurisdiction over the implementation of the agreement, payment of claims and determining the exact amount of attorney fees and expenses.
Objectors represented by the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute immediately announced they will appeal the fee award to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. They said the fee was excessive given the size of the settlement and trend for courts to scale back lawyer payouts as funds exceed $100 million. Napoli Shkolnik, for example, submitted billing records for “associates” worth $500 an hour when in fact they were temp attorneys likely making a fraction of that amount, Hamilton Lincoln said.
Objectors asked Judge Levy for access to the billing records submitted to the court, but the judge refused, saying they had been examined by a special master and “further inquiry and scrutiny by objectors is unnecessary.”
“No evidence of trickery or of inflating rates, whatsoever, has been identified through this independent review,” the judge wrote in her Feb. 4 order.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, agreed to a “clear sailing” clause under which the State wouldn’t challenge the private attorneys’ fee request, although such agreements are considered a factor suggesting possible collusion between plaintiffs and the defense in class actions.
Nessel received $7,100 in campaign donations from name partner Michael L. Pitt of Pitt McGhee in 2021 and $6,800 from Deborah A. LaBelle, another lawyer who will participate in the fee award, according to state records.