Can a court review the agreed upon attorney fees in a class action settlement agreement?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Garabedian v. Los Angeles Cellular Tel. Co., 118 Cal.App.4th 123, 12 Cal.Rptr.3d 737 (Cal. App. 2004):

Plaintiffs argue the Garabedian I court had no right to independently decide the amount of attorney fees. But plaintiffs cite no law, and we found none, that prohibits a court from reviewing the reasonableness of the amount of agreed upon attorney fees in a class action settlement agreement. To the contrary, the court has a duty to review and approve attorney fees. In Dunk v. Ford Motor Co. (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1794, 56 Cal.Rptr.2d 483, the court held "`[t]horough judicial review of fee applications is required in all class action settlements....' .... [Citation.]" (Id. at p. 1808, 56 Cal.Rptr.2d 483, fn. omitted.) Even where the parties agree as to the amount of attorney fees in such a settlement agreement, courts properly review and modify the agreed upon fees if the amount is not reasonable.

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