In re UnitedHealth Group, Inc. PSLRA Litigation
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
643 F.Supp.2d 1107 (2009)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
The district judge in a class-action lawsuit pending against UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (UnitedHealth) (defendant) preliminarily approved a proposed settlement agreement. The judge notified the plaintiff class and set a deadline for the filing of objections. On the day of the deadline, three attorneys (objectors’ counsel) who represented two objecting UnitedHealth shareholders filed a one-page document that listed one of the shareholders’ UnitedHealth holdings. The day after the deadline, objectors’ counsel filed a one-paragraph notice identifying the previous days’ document as an exhibit to their objection, which had not yet been filed. Two weeks later, objectors’ counsel filed an eight-page-long objection, calling into question the reasonableness of the $110 million in attorney’s fees requested by class counsel, primarily citing the employment of paralegals and contract attorneys to work on the case. The document also objected to a request by class counsel for reimbursement of expenses; however, class counsel had not made a request for expenses. The district court subsequently approved the settlement and awarded more than $64 million in attorney’s fees to class counsel. Objectors’ counsel then filed a motion for several hundred thousand dollars in attorney’s fees, arguing that their objection had prompted the court to reduce class counsel’s award of attorney’s fees, thus benefiting the class by saving it $45 million in attorney’s fees.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rosenbaum, J.)
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