Citigroup Fee Flap Strikes At Heart Of Class Action Model

Law 360 discusses Ted Frank's objections to the Citigroup settlement that paid attorneys huge fees for work done by contract lawyers.

The most vocal critic so far of the Citigroup settlement fee proposal has been Ted Frank, a tort reform advocate and Citigroup shareholder. Frank was successful in arguing with the federal judge overseeing the case to see some billing records of the lead plaintiffs’ firm, Kirby McInerney LLP.

In his objections, Frank has argued that the firm wants to collect as much as $550 an hour for work done by contract lawyers who he says were making a fraction of that amount. Even more damning, he said, are indications that Kirby billed about a third of its total lodestar hours after the parties agreed to a settlement, which he characterized as a blatant attempt to pad the bill at the clients' expense.

Read the full article at Law 360.