Does a judge have discretion to award attorney fees based solely on a percentage of the common fund recovery?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Litwin v. Irenew Bio Energy Solutions, LLC, B248759 (Cal. App. 2014):

Appellant nevertheless argues the trial court abused its discretion in awarding attorney fees equal to 31 percent of the value of class members' claims. This argument has no merit. Although the practice of awarding attorney fees based solely on a percentage of the common fund had been adopted by some federal courts (see Lealao v. Beneficial California, Inc., supra, 82 Cal.App.4th at pp. 27-31), "[t]he award of attorney fees based on a percentage of a 'common fund' recovery is of questionable validity in

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