An Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that overturned a $465 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson for allegedly fueling the state’s opioid epidemic raises questions in a related but quite different lawsuit.
Winchester
OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) – A $19 million award to class action lawyers was much too high, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled in a decision that is still good news for the class action bar.
That’s because the court on April 20 held judges can use the contingency fee agreements between lawyers and their clients when determining the amount of fees they can take out of class settlements or verdicts.
The alternative was to force fees to be determined by a lodestar, which would have meant less profit for the lawyers in big cases. Judges will now be permitted to use either method as long as they arrive at a rational amount.