Plaintiffs who retain their own counsel in class action lawsuits may still owe attorney fees to other counsel who created additional benefits for shareholders, the Delaware Court of Chancery has ruled. The court issued the opinion when it awarded $3.9 million in attorney fees to a trio of law firms that reached a settlement between Revlon Inc. and its stockholders in a 2009 lawsuit, despite objections from Fidelity Management & Research Co.
“Delaware courts have long taken into account the degree of causation between counsel’s efforts and the result when awarding reasonable attorney fees,” said Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster in Smith, Katzenstein & Jenkins v. Fidelity Management & Research. “Delaware courts have not adopted a bright-line rule that precludes plaintiffs’ counsel from obtaining a fee just because another actor retains counsel and contributes to the creation of a benefit.”
