04/22/2008
District Court Abused Discretion By Delegating Fee Allocation to Self-Interested Attorneys
In re High Sulfur Content Gasoline Products Liability Litigation, 517 F.3d 220 (5th Cir. 2008)
Brief Summary
The Louisiana U.S. District Court allocated attorneys’ fees between 79 attorneys by relying on the recommendation of only five attorneys. The Fifth Circuit held that because the court did not scrutinize this recommendation and did not give the remaining 74 attorneys a full opportunity to be heard, the court abused its discretion.
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