Judge Hires Special Master to Vet Attorney Bills in Anthem Settlement

Law.com’s The Recorder discusses CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness and their request for a special master in the Anthem data breach settlement.

Class action critic Ted Frank, representing an objector, had asked for a special master, claiming the fee request was “outrageous on its face.” Frank, of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness, had criticized $23 million in notice and administration costs and questioned the average $360 hourly rate for contract attorneys submitted in the fee request. He noted that a special master in Boston is investigating Lieff Cabraser, along with two other law firms, for potential overbilling for staff attorneys in a $74.5 million fee request in securities class action settlements with State Street.

Frank also questioned why 49 other firms were set to receive $13.6 million in fees in the case.

Read the full article here.