to establish protocols for a common benefit fee and expense fund. The PLC’s proposal aimed to assess a percentage from any recoveries in the litigation and to fund the legal work undertaken for the collective benefit of all plaintiffs in the MDL. However, a law firm representing individual plaintiffs in the MDL, Keller Postman LLC, objected to both the court’s authority to impose fees on cases outside the MDL (such as those in state courts or cases settled before being formally filed in the MDL), and the proposed 11% holdback from settlements or judgments. Despite Keller Postman’s objections, no other counsel opposed the proposed order. The court accepted the PLC’s proposal in some respects but limited the scope of its authority. The court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to enforce a common benefit fee or holdback on cases outside the MDL, such as those settled in state courts or those not filed in the MDL. While the common benefit doctrine typically allows courts to assess fees for work benefiting all plaintiffs in a case, the court emphasized that it can only apply such assessments to cases within its jurisdiction, which does not extend to non-MDL cases or those not before it. The court also rejected the PLC’s argument that it could assess fees against settlements from non-MDL cases, stating that without the cases being before the court, it has no power to enforce such assessments. As for the holdback percentage, the court found the proposed 11% (8% for attorneys’ fees and 3% for expenses) to be reasonable, despite Keller Postman’s objections that it was too high. The court noted that such percentages are common in complex MDLs, and the PLC’s calculation of the holdback was based on a reasonable estimate of the ongoing work required in the litigation, which included extensive document discovery, expert work, and deposition testimony.
17
© Duane Morris LLP 2025
Products Liability & Mass Torts Class Action Review – 2025
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online