Wilner v. Leopold & Associates, PLLC
- Reznik
- 7:15-cv-09374
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Wilner v. Leopold & Associates, PLLC, Judge Reznik ordered counsel seeking class-fee funds to submit fee requests by September 22, 2023.
Present and former counsel for the plaintiffs seeking a portion of the $53,000 awarded for attorneys’ fees, costs, and litigation expenses.
What happened
In Wilner v. Leopold & Associates, PLLC, a prior judgment awarded $53,000 to court-approved class counsel for attorneys’ fees, costs, and litigation expenses. The court retained jurisdiction over the settlement’s administration and enforcement.
Plaintiffs’ current lawyer asked the court to set a deadline for former counsel, STLLP, to seek payment from that $53,000. STLLP responded that all present and former lawyers should submit their fee requests and asked the court to determine how much each firm should receive.
Judge Victoria Reznik ordered all present and former plaintiffs’ counsel seeking a portion of the $53,000 to submit a letter explaining their requested share, with supporting information, by September 22, 2023.
The detailed version
- Wilner v. Leopold & Associates, PLLC · No. 7:15-cv-09374
- Reznik
- Aug. 30, 2023
Background
On January 25, 2022, Judge Paul Davison entered a final judgment awarding $53,000 to court-approved class counsel for attorneys’ fees, costs, and litigation expenses. The judgment stated that the court would retain exclusive and continuing jurisdiction over the settlement’s administration and enforcement.
The Requests
On July 31, 2023, the Kim Law Firm, which represented the plaintiffs, filed a motion asking the court to set a deadline for former plaintiffs’ counsel, STLLP, formerly known as Stern Thomasson, LLP, to seek an amount for its charging lien against the court-approved class-counsel fees. A charging lien is a lawyer’s asserted right to payment from funds recovered in a case.
On August 17, 2023, STLLP asked the court to set a deadline for all present and former plaintiffs’ counsel to submit fee requests. It also asked the court to determine the amount due to each firm. The opinion states that federal courts may use supplemental jurisdiction to decide disputes over dividing attorneys’ fees when those disputes relate to the main action.
Order
Judge Victoria Reznik ordered that all present and former plaintiffs’ counsel seeking a portion of the $53,000 submit a fee request by letter-motion no later than September 22, 2023. Each request must explain what portion of the funds the firm claims and include or attach supporting information. The opinion does not decide how the $53,000 should ultimately be divided.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.