Lawyer's fee what's fair for comsumer fraud settlement?

[chain2512]

My class action lawsuit against a electricity company got settled , now my lawyer wants over half of the settlement. Is that reasonable?

 

[quincy]

My class action lawsuit against a electricity company got settled , now my lawyer wants over half of the settlement. Is that reasonable?

Possibly. Were you the “face” of the lawsuit (one of the named plaintiffs)?

 

[chain2512]

Yes one of 2 plaintiffs. Lawyer wants about 5k over half of settlements.

 

[quincy]

Yes one of 2 plaintiffs. Lawyer wants about 5k over half of settlements.

What does your contract say about fees?

What is the name of your state?

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005:
https://www.congress.gov/109/plaws/publ2/PLAW-109publ2.pdf

 

[adjusterjack]

Yes one of 2 plaintiffs. Lawyer wants about 5k over half of settlements.

That's scumbag robbery.

Don't you have a written fee agreement?

If not, it's not like you were crippled for life and need the money to survive on. You and the other plaintiff can just refuse to sign the settlement agreement (you'd have to sign something to get the money) unless the lawyer agrees to lower his fee to something more reasonable and gives you a written agreement to that effect.

If you don't sign he gets nothing.

That's your leverage against the bastard.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

One thing you need to look at when reading the document that quincy has linked is there is a difference between lawyer fees and expenses.

 

[quincy]

One thing you need to look at when reading the document that quincy has linked is there is a difference between lawyer fees and expenses.

Exactly. Attorneys in class action suits usually receive a percentage of the settlement plus expenses.

Although you can dispute the amount received by the attorney, you might want to learn the attorney’s typical hourly rate and multiply that by an estimated number of hours worked by the attorney to reach a settlement.

 

[chain2512]

Illinois , contract says when settled as non class action , I should receive my out of pocket loss and the rest go to attorney's fees but they agreed to give us about 1/4 each and they take half.

 

[quincy]

Illinois , contract says when settled as non class action , I should receive my out of pocket loss and the rest go to attorney's fees but they agreed to give us about 1/4 each and they take half.

Huh?

 

[Zigner]

Illinois , contract says when settled as non class action , I should receive my out of pocket loss and the rest go to attorney's fees but they agreed to give us about 1/4 each and they take half.

What was your actual out of pocket loss?

 

[quincy]

How many plaintiffs were there in the class action suit? Just two?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Illinois , contract says when settled as non class action , I should receive my out of pocket loss and the rest go to attorney's fees but they agreed to give us about 1/4 each and they take half.

Was it settled as a class action or not?
And what were your out of pocket losses?

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the Illinois Attorney Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5, Fees:

https://casetext.com/rule/illinois-court-rules/illinois-supreme-court-rules/article-viii-illinois-rules-of-professional-conduct-of-2010/rule-15-fees

 

[zddoodah]

My class action lawsuit against a electricity company got settled

Please explain exactly what you mean by "my class action suit" in light of your statement in post #9 in the thread that the "contract [between you and the attorney, I assume] says when settled as a non class action," etc. Between that and the minimal amount of the settlement, it sounds to me like the case was filed with the intent of seeking class action certification but that that never actually happened. I assume that you were a representative plaintiff. Correct?

now my lawyer wants over half of the settlement. Is that reasonable?

No way to opine intelligently about this based on the limited facts given. One would need to review the contract between you and the lawyer and know much more about the suit and the settlement.

Do you think it's reasonable? If not, why not? If not, have you discussed the matter with the attorney? If not, why not, and if so, what did the attorney say?

contract says when settled as non class action , I should receive my out of pocket loss and the rest go to attorney's fees

It would be better if you quoted the actual language.