IN RE: LITHIUM ION BATTERIES ANTITRUST LITIGATION (2019)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

IN RE: LITHIUM ION BATTERIES ANTITRUST LITIGATION, Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.
Christopher Andrews, Objector-Appellant, v. Panasonic Corporation; Panasonic Corporation of North America; Sanyo Electric Co, Ltd; Sanyo North America Corporation; Hitachi, Ltd.; Hitachi Maxwell, Ltd.; Maxwell Corporation of America; Toshiba Corporation; Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.; NEC Corporation; Samsung SDI Co. Ltd.; Samsung SDI America, Inc.; Sony Corporation; Sony Energy Devices Corporation; Sony Electronics, Inc.; NEC Tokin Corporation; LG Chem, Ltd.; LG Chem America, Inc., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 17-17369

Decided: September 16, 2019

Before: HAWKINS, McKEOWN, and BYBEE, Circuit Judges.

Steve Berman, Attorney, Hagens Berman, Seattle, WA, Elizabeth J. Cabraser, Eric B. Fastiff, Attorney, Richard M. Heimann, Attorney, Brendan P. Glackin, Attorney, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, San Francisco, CA, Joseph W. Cotchett, Attorney, Adam J. Zapala, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, Burlingame, CA, Jessica Moy, Todd A. Seaver, Berman Tabacco, San Francisco, CA, Shana E. Scarlett, Attorney, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, for Plaintiff-Appellee Christopher Andrews, Pro Se Jeffrey J. Amato, Eva W. Cole, Jeffrey L. Kessler, James F. Lerner, Winston & Strawn LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants-Appellees Panasonic Corporation, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Sanyo Electric Co, Ltd, Sanyo North America Corporation Jason Alan Levine, Craig Philip Seebald, Partner, Lindsey R. Vaala, Attorney, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Washington, DC, for Defendants-Appellees Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Maxwell, Ltd. Jason Alan Levine, Craig Philip Seebald, Partner, Lindsey R. Vaala, Attorney, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Washington, DC, Christopher Walter James, Vinson & Elkins LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Defendant-Appellee Maxwell Corporation of America Christopher M. Curran, Attorney, Jerry Frank Hogue, White & Case LLP, Washington, DC, for Defendants-Appellees Toshiba Corporation, Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. Dana Lynn Cook-Milligan, Sean D. Meenan, Jeanifer E. Parsigian, Robert Bernard Pringle, Esquire, Attorney, Winston and Strawn LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Defendant-Appellee NEC Corporation Dylan I. Ballard, Gary Halling, Esquire, James McGinnis, Nadezhda Nikonova, Attorney, Michael W. Scarborough, Attorney, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Defendants-Appellees Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., Samsung SDI America, Inc. Matthew Michael Brown, Esquire, Attorney, Beatriz Mejia, Attorney, Cooley LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Defendants-Appellees Sony Corporation, Sony Energy Devices Corporation, Sony Electronics, Inc. George Arnold Nicoud, III, George Charles Nierlich, III, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Defendant-Appellee NEC Tokin Corporation Nathan P. Eimer, Eimer Stahl, LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendants-Appellees LG Chem, Ltd., LG Chem America, Inc.

MEMORANDUM **

In light of our disposition in Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs v. Bednarz, No. 17-17367, vacating the district court's approval of the settlement agreements, Appellant Christopher Andrews's challenges to the notice of settlement, the district court's approval order, and the settlement agreements are moot.

Andrews argues that the district court abused its discretion by awarding fees to class counsel. Because we vacated the district court's order approving the settlement agreements, we must also vacate the district court's fee award, as that award was “based upon the settlement agreements entered with Hitachi, NEC, and LG Chem.”

We VACATE the district court's fee award and REMAND for further proceedings. The remainder of Andrews's arguments are DISMISSED as moot. Each party shall bear its own costs on appeal.

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