Trials & Litigation
Judge in Google antitrust case blasts attorney fees request as ‘shockingly huge’
“The pyramids were built in less time than it took to litigate this case,” said U.S. District Judge James Donato of the Northern District of California in response to a counsel’s attorney fees request in a Google antitrust settlement. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California)
A California federal judge who approved a $700 million antitrust settlement with Google described the class counsel’s $85 million attorney fees request as “patently unreasonable” and “shockingly huge.”
U.S. District Judge James Donato of the Northern District of California, speaking at an April 30 hearing, appeared shocked at the attorney fees request from lead counsel Karma Giulianelli of Bartlit Beck in Denver and Hae Sung Nam of Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer in New York, according to Law.com.
Donato called the estimated 98,200 hours worked on the case “a mountain of time,” and he added that, “I can’t say it without gasping,” according to the story.
“The pyramids were built in less time than it took to litigate this case,” he said, according to Law.com. “I have serious doubts that almost 100,000 hours of work in this case for the results that were obtained—not even close to being reasonable.”
The request is part of a 2023 settlement Google reached with attorneys general from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as part of multidistrict litigation alleging that the apps and pricing on Google’s Play Store violated federal antitrust laws.
Donato granted preliminary approval of the deal in November.
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