US Disk-Drive Feet Antitrust Trial Ends

A California federal judge on Monday awarded $26.6 million in legal fees to plaintiffs’ firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro in an antitrust case about disk drives in popular electronic devices, resolving several years of wrangling over how much the attorneys should be paid for landing $205 million in settlements.

In his order, US District Judge Richard Seeborg adopted a fee amount that the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in June suggested would be fair pay for the plaintiffs’ team.

The appeals court ruling, grappling with objections to the lawyers’ fees, erased a $31 million award. A 2020 9th Circuit order voided $52.7 million in fees in the case.

Seattle-based Hagens Berman has represented consumers in consolidated claims since 2010 against makers of optical disk drives in computers, DVD players and other equipment. Defendant companies, including Hitachi Ltd and LG Electronics, denied liability. Lawyers for Hitachi and LG did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

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