The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explained its view that class-action complainants attorneys normally must not be granted costs that surpass the quantity their customers obtain from a settlement as the court overruled a $1.7 million cost award in which the class got less than $53,000 in a royalties challenge settlement.
The three-judge panel, in a precedential choice recently, stated the lower court mistakenly determined costs for complainants’ counsel in a copyright case based upon a settlement that offered a fund of approximately $20 million for class payments. The district court must have rather took a look at the quantity really acquired by those who made claims, here $52,841.05, the Ninth Circuit stated.
