Kang v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
- Beth Freeman
- 5:17-cv-06220
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 15
In Kang v. Wells Fargo, Judge Freeman partly granted and partly denied objector Kirk Fyson’s requests, awarding $33,115 in fees and $1,500.
Kirk Fyson received $33,115 in attorneys’ fees and a $1,500 service award. The class members benefit from the settlement and the partial waiver of appeal rights, while the awards are paid from the common settlement fund.
What happened
In Kang v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., the court had already approved a class-action settlement for California-based home mortgage consultants who claimed Wells Fargo violated state wage laws. Kirk Fyson, the only class member who objected, then asked for $583,636 in legal fees and a $3,500 service payment.
Fyson argued that his objection helped reduce class counsel’s requested fees and encouraged plaintiffs to give up part of their right to appeal the fee ruling. The plaintiffs opposed the request, arguing that Fyson’s objection did not affect the fee award or their decision to reduce their request.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted in part and denied in part Fyson’s motion. She awarded him $33,115 in attorneys’ fees and a $1,500 service award, both to be paid from the common settlement fund.
The detailed version
- Kang v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. · No. 5:17-cv-06220
- Beth Freeman
- Apr. 15, 2022
Background
The court had granted final approval to a class-action settlement involving California-based home mortgage consultants and claims that Wells Fargo violated California wage-and-hour laws, including the law governing meal and rest breaks. The settlement fund was $95,696,122.35 for 4,939 class members.
Kirk Fyson was the only class member who objected to the settlement. The court rejected all eight grounds in his objection and denied his separate motions to intervene and to enforce an earlier appellate mandate. Fyson later requested $583,636 in attorneys’ fees and a $3,500 service award.
Attorneys’ Fees
A class-member objector may receive fees when the objection provides a meaningful benefit to the class. Fyson argued that his objection helped cause plaintiffs to reduce class counsel’s requested fee from 33% to 25% of the settlement fund and to waive appeal rights concerning that portion of the fee request.
The court rejected Fyson’s proposed percentage-based calculation. It found that his objection did not produce a readily measurable increase in the settlement fund because the court had already indicated that it would not approve the original 33% request. The court also found that the final 22% fee award to class counsel was based on the court’s own review, not on arguments raised by Fyson.
The court nevertheless found that Fyson’s objection helped cause plaintiffs to waive part of their right to appeal the attorneys’ fee ruling. The court viewed that waiver as a benefit because it gave the class greater certainty about the finality of the ruling. Because that benefit could not be easily measured in dollars, the court used the lodestar method, which calculates fees by multiplying reasonable hours by a reasonable hourly rate.
The court found that 35.8 hours of counsel’s work reasonably related to the successful attorneys’ fee issue. Applying a single hourly rate of $925, it calculated a lodestar of $33,115. The court declined to add a multiplier because Fyson’s counsel’s successful contribution was limited, the court had ruled against Fyson on every argument, and the fee issue did not require unusually difficult analysis.
The court ordered that the $33,115 fee award be paid from the common settlement fund rather than deducted from the fees previously awarded to class counsel. It stated that reducing class counsel’s award would be inequitable and that the objector’s award was modest compared with the settlement fund.
Service Award
Fyson also requested a $3,500 service award. The court found that he had spent 15 hours on the case and calculated a base award of $1,125 using a $75 hourly value. It increased the award to $1,500 because Fyson made his name public to pursue his objection and thereby gave up his privacy.
Disposition
Judge Beth Labson Freeman ordered that Fyson’s motion for attorneys’ fees and a service award was GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. Fyson received $33,115 in attorneys’ fees and a $1,500 service award, both payable from the common settlement fund. The court also directed plaintiffs to file a proposed judgment consistent with this order and the final settlement-approval order.
Read the full 15-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.