In class action lawsuits, who really wins? We wrote a previous article on this topic, explaining how the recent class action lawsuit against T-Mobile led to $25 settlement money for each class member compared to the fees that their representing lawyers would receive. This topic is once again brought to the spotlight in lieu of recent events. 

As reported by PhoneArena, a US appeals court recently decided to reverse its decision and concluded that the lawyers “received a windfall” out of the $350 million settlement paid by T-Mobile. 

The settlement would have paid eligible customers up to $25,000 for out-of-pocket losses. Those who aren’t able to submit proof of loss would only be receiving $25 (or $100 for those in California). Meanwhile, class counsel expected a 22.5 percent of the settlement fund, which amounted to $78.75 million. 

While there were those who opposed this fee and called it a “megafund,” the class counsel countered by saying they would only be getting 15.75 percent of the $500 million fund since T-Mobile would add another $150 million to improve its website security.  

Although the appeals court doesn’t think the class counsel performed poorly, it concluded that the awarded fee was unreasonable. The previous fee also included the projected 3,000 hours that the lawyers would have spent if the lawsuit would have played out. Since the lawyers only worked on the case for a few months, they were not expected to put in “the time and effort to yield a return like the one the court awarded.”

For now, the case is said to be sent to another court for recommended action. 

Source: PhoneArena