Chabak v. Somnia, Inc.
- Philip Halpern
- 7:22-cv-09341
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Chabak v. Somnia, Inc., Judge Halpern granted class counsel $1 million in fees, $50,294.92 in expenses, and $1,000 service awards for each plaintiff.
Class counsel received $1,000,000 in attorneys’ fees and $50,294.92 in expense reimbursement. The nine named plaintiffs— Irene Chabak, Armando Carrasco, Randy Polk, Kelly Wilson, Thomas Booth Harris, Scott Weiscope, Lavina Henderson, Jeremy Henderson, and Raycine Sommers—each received a $1,000 service award. The order concerned a class settlement and therefore also affected the represented class.
What happened
In Chabak v. Somnia, Inc., the plaintiffs and class counsel asked the court to approve attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, and payments to the named plaintiffs who represented the class. The case involved a class action arising from the exposure of personal information in a data breach, and the settlement created a common fund.
The court found that class counsel’s requested fee was reasonable. It considered counsel’s work, the case’s complexity and risks, the quality of the representation, the fee’s relationship to the settlement, and public-policy considerations. The court also found the requested expenses and the plaintiffs’ service awards reasonable.
Judge Halpern granted $1,000,000 in attorneys’ fees, $50,294.92 in litigation-expense reimbursement, and a $1,000 service award to each of the nine named plaintiffs. The order did not decide the underlying liability claims; it addressed fees, expenses, and service awards connected with the class settlement.
The detailed version
- Chabak v. Somnia, Inc. · No. 7:22-cv-09341
- Philip Halpern
- Apr. 28, 2025
Background
The plaintiffs and class counsel moved for attorneys’ fees, reimbursement of litigation expenses, and service awards for the nine named plaintiffs. The opinion describes the lawsuit as a class action arising from the exposure of personal information in a data breach. The settlement created a common fund.
Attorneys’ Fees
The court held that class counsel were entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees. Because the settlement created a common fund, the court used the percentage-of-the-fund method. Class counsel requested $1,000,000, which the court stated represented 31.5% of the settlement fund’s value.
The court evaluated the request using factors including the time and labor counsel spent, the litigation’s magnitude and complexity, the risks of the case, the quality of the representation, the relationship between the requested fee and the settlement, and public-policy considerations. The court found that counsel had spent significant time investigating, litigating, conducting discovery, and negotiating the settlement. It also found the case factually and legally complex, involving significant risks including a risk of nonpayment related in part to the defendants’ finances.
The court additionally used a lodestar cross-check. A lodestar is an estimate based on the reasonable number of hours worked multiplied by reasonable hourly rates. The court found that counsel’s time and hourly rates were reasonable and that the cross-check supported the requested fee. The court therefore granted attorneys’ fees to Class Counsel in the amount of $1,000,000.
Litigation Expenses
The court found that class counsel were entitled to reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket costs advanced for the class. It determined that the expenses incurred were reasonable and necessary for effective representation. The court granted Plaintiffs’ request for reimbursement of litigation expenses in the amount of $50,294.92.
Service Awards
A service award is a payment to named plaintiffs who assist in representing a class. The court found that the requested $1,000 payment to each plaintiff was reasonable. It noted that the plaintiffs communicated with class counsel by telephone and email, helped collect documents for the investigation and litigation, reviewed pleadings, and discussed litigation developments and the settlement with counsel. The court also found the awards reasonable compared with the average recovery of class members.
The court granted the requested $1,000 award to Irene Chabak, Armando Carrasco, Randy Polk, Kelly Wilson, Thomas Booth Harris, Scott Weiscope, Lavina Henderson, Jeremy Henderson, and Raycine Sommers.
Disposition
The order granted the requested attorneys’ fees, litigation-expense reimbursement, and service awards. It did not adjudicate the underlying liability claims described in the class action.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.