United States Fifth Circuit

In a class action case arising in circumstances in which a refinery allegedly produced contaminated gasoline that was purchased and used by thousands of motorists, an order approving allocation of a $6.875 million lump sum attorneys' fee award among more than six dozen plaintiffs' lawyers is vacated where various aspects of the court's process below were unauthorized and objectionable, including that the district court: 1) was persuaded to accept the allocation in an ex parte hearing, apparently without benefit of supporting data; 2) accepted lead counsel's proposed order sealing the individual awards; 3) prevented all counsel from communicating with anyone about the awards; 4) required releases from counsel who accepted payment; and 5) limited its own scope of review of objections to the allocation.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/04/2008
• Published 02/05/2008

Judges

• EDITH H. JONES, Chief Judge:, Before JONES, Chief Judge, and REAVLEY and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• John D. Sileo, Dane S. Ciolino (argued), New Orleans, LA, for Appellants., Walter C. Dumas, Dumas & Associates, Baton Rouge, LA, pro se., Patrick E. Geraghty, Geraghty, Dougherty & Edwards, Fort Myers, FL, pro se., Richard J. Arsenault, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault, Alexandria, LA, pro se., John William Barrett, Barrett Law Office, Lexington, MS, pro se.


• For Appellees:
  
• F.A. Little, Jr. (argued), Stanley, Flanagan & Reuter, New Orleans, LA, for Appellees.