Windfall Fees Come After Lengthy Battle

Windfall Fees Come After Lengthy Battle - 1/26/2009

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2009 News and Press Releases

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News	News 2009
HEADLINES \| SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS \| COURT FILINGS LINKS TO OTHER NEWS \| NEWS ARCHIVE	HEADLINES ARCHIVED SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS ARCHIVED

SETTLEMENT NEWS:

Windfall Fees Come After Lengthy Battle, Conn. Firms To Get Piece Of $120 Million From Securities Case Settlement
Douglas S. Malan

Connecticut Law Tribune. January 26, 2009
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EXCERPT: The final touches had been placed on one of the top securities fraud settlements in American history, but there was still one major bone of contention—how much would the plaintiffs’ attorneys receive? That issue was settled on Jan. 14 by Judge Alvin W. Thompson in the U.S. District Court in Hartford when he awarded $120 million in attorneys’ fees, plus $3.3 million in costs, in Carlson v. Xerox. The fees and costs are part of a $750 million settlement that Xerox, the Norwalk-based digital printer and document management company, agreed to pay to investors while facing allegations that the company overstated earnings from 1997 to 2001. “This is one of the biggest settlements that any law firm has ever seen,” said Brad N. Friedman, partner of Milberg LLP in New York, which was co-lead counsel in the case. In fact, the class action suit settlement ranks 10th all-time since the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act was passed in 1995, according to retired federal Judge Alfred M. Wolin, who argued in September that the lead counsel for plaintiffs were due a larger cut of the settlement. Plaintiffs’ counsel were initially seeking a 20 percent cut of the settlement. Still, their ultimate 16 percent take was the largest in the top 10, and their $120 million chunk was second largest in that same group. Xerox is expected to pay out the settlement in five installments throughout the year. Friedman has seen his share of large securities settlements. He and his firm were lead counsel in Enron’s $7.2 billion settlement and Tyco’s $3.2 billion settlement, which rank first and third on the list, respectively. “The fees as a percentage [in the Xerox case] were fair,” Friedman said. “It’s a big fee, but it’s a big case.”

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