Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the Gibson Copycat Commission lawsuit are seeking $36.8 million, or one-third of the total $110.6 million settlement in the case, according to documents filed Tuesday.
The amount only applies to the Gibson lawsuit, which was consolidated with the Umpa lawsuit in April, because the settlement for that lawsuit was separate from the settlement negotiated with the Sitzer/Burnett and Moehrl plaintiffs.
In the document, the law firm kagemak and macret, williams dex cameron, Cohen Millstein Sellers and Tolls, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and Sussman Godfrey It claims they have spent 105,000 hours since the original commission lawsuit was filed in 2019, costing a total of $13 million out of pocket.
The effort included reviewing millions of pages of documents, hiring 20 experts and consultants and conducting about 180 depositions, the filing said. The filing states there are more than 2,400 docket entries in four cases related to Gibson’s lawsuit.
“Class counsel is a diverse group of highly respected antitrust, complex litigation and trial attorneys who serve as leaders in litigation,” the filing states. “In doing so, class counsel is unable to rely on any government prosecution or other private counsel. Pre-Existing Litigation.”
In addition to the $36.8 million, plaintiffs’ attorneys are seeking $13.1 million in fees that they say represent all settlement costs, $12.9 million of which was already awarded by Judge Stephen R. Bough in the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit. The remaining costs, approximately $200,000, will be recovered by the five companies.
“These settlements are the independent product of their entirely incidental, risky, costly and time-consuming efforts to seek compensation from the defendants and not the work of anyone else,” the attorneys wrote.
Defendants who have settled Gibson’s lawsuit include compass, real brokerage, Real Estate Group, real estate in the world, Douglas Elliman, redfin tuna, Engel and Volks, Home Smart Holdings and United Real Estate.
Lawyers estimate they spent nearly $90.8 million in the Gibson litigation, nearly three times the fees they charged, and they shifted less risky work to the cases.
In previous filings, the plaintiffs said they had agreed to a one-third stake. In addition, their lawyers said they would seek to recoup one-third of the $987.1 million settlement in the commission’s lawsuit, totaling $329 million with fees.
Dirks Cameron’s partners made $1,250 an hour, paralegals made $300 an hour and associates, one of whom spent more than 2,000 hours on the case, made $600 an hour, documents show.
Michael Ketchmark, the lead plaintiff’s attorney in the Sitzer/Burnett and Gibson lawsuits, wrote in the filing that he spent nearly 7,000 hours on the cases. At $1,450 an hour, he hopes to earn $10.1 million from his work.
The highest hourly rate among lawyers involved in the litigation is Marc Seltzer of Susman Godfrey, who charges $2,200 an hour.
The document states, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals It has previously been held that class action attorney fees of 25% to 36% of the total settlement amount are appropriate.
The final approval date for the Gibson settlement is set for October 31, which coincides with the one-year anniversary of the jury’s verdict in the Caesar/Burnett lawsuit.