A federal judge has slashed by more than half the plaintiffs fees in a closely watched consumer class action involving Bluetooth headsets, concluding that “no reasonable paying client” would pay such an amount.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles on July 31 approved a settlement in the litigation, resolving claims that the headsets should have carried warnings about hearing loss. But she lowered the plaintiffs fees and costs to nearly $283,000 from the $800,000 figure she originally approved.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, reviewing an appeal of the original settlement brought by objector counsel Ted Frank, founder of the Center for Class Action Fairness in Washington, rejected the deal, concluding that Fischer had not adequately tested whether the fees were excessive. The settlement awards $100,000 in cy pres, or charitable, contributions, but no money for the
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