Sholopa v. Turkish Airlines, Inc.

Background

Plaintiffs Svetlana Sholopa and Milica Milosevic brought the case individually and on behalf of others similarly situated. The opinion concerns Class Counsel’s motion for attorneys’ fees, costs, expenses, and incentive awards after a settlement with a stated value of approximately $14.1 million.

Court’s Analysis

Class Counsel requested $900,000, equal to 6.38% of the settlement’s approximately $14.1 million cash value. The court found the requested fees, costs, and expenses fair and reasonable. In reaching that conclusion, the court considered the time and labor spent, the litigation’s magnitude and complexity, the risks of the litigation, the quality of representation, the fee’s relationship to the settlement, and public-policy considerations.

The court also conducted a lodestar cross-check, a comparison between the percentage-based fee and the hours worked multiplied by counsel’s reasonable hourly rates. That analysis produced a multiplier of 3.37. The court found the hours reasonable, the rates supported by evidence of current market rates for attorneys with comparable experience and expertise, and the multiplier reasonable.

Class Counsel also requested incentive awards of $3,500 for each of the two representative plaintiffs. The court found those awards fair and reasonable.

Ruling

Judge Andrew L. Carter ordered that Class Counsel receive $900,000 in attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses. The court also ordered that Svetlana Sholopa and Milica Milosevic each receive a $3,500 service award.