TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Touting their "skill, experience and efficiency," plaintiff lawyers who sued Walmart over the weight and price of produce are asking a federal judge for $9 million.
Lawyers from Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith in Haverford, Pa., on May 8 filed their motion for attorneys fees, asking for 20% of a $45 million settlement. More than 81 million emails were sent to notify customers of the settlement, which was given preliminary approval by Tampa federal judge Virginia Hernandez Covington in January.
"Class Counsel devoted over 3,500 hours, spent investigating claims, engaging in motion practice, undertaking in discovery and massive data discovery, consulting and working with experts, and all the while, also negotiating and mediating a nationwide settlement at arms’ length with the assistance of an experienced mediator, with a lodestar value of $3,418,859," the motion says.
Vassilios Kukorinis’ lawsuit, filed in Florida federal court in 2022, alleged customers are being misled by price stickers in four ways: That Walmart falsely inflates product weight, mislabels the weight of bagged produce, overcharges on sold-by-weight clearance products and overcharges on sold-by-weight seafood products.
The suit took aim at Walmart’s claim that “a cornerstone of our business” is “our commitment to price leadership.”
The settlement, introduced to the court in November, creates a non-reversionary common fund of $45 million. class members can receive cash payments of up to $25 without proof of purchase or up to $500 with documentation of purchases of weighted goods and bagged citrus.
A final fairness hearing is scheduled to be held in June.