Enron lawyers seek $688m fees
The legal counsel representing the investors and shareholders in the Enron case are requesting a record fee of $688m (£350m).
The legal counsel that represented Enron Corp. shareholders and investors has
requested fees of $688m, thought to be a record for a legal brief.
Enron Corp are set to receive $7.2bn as part of the lawsuit filed by Coughlin
Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, after the collapse of the energy company,
news agency
Associated
Press reported.
US district judge Melinda Harmon has yet to make a decision on the amount to
be awarded to the plaintiffs and fees to be paid to the legal counsel.
If the requested fee is paid to the San-Diego based law firm, it will be the
largest fee granted in a securities fraud case.
Patrick Coughlin from the legal counsel had said that the fee reflects the
agreement of 9.5% share of the settlement, his law firm made six years ago when
they first took on the case, he added: ‘the plan is doing whatever it can to
help employees get whatever they can’.
Coughlin stressed that the firm was claiming well below the standard 33% rate
and that the fee was justified due to the complexity and risk of the case.
The payout to Enron Corp resulted in settlements made with financial
institutions such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citigroup.
Further reading:
Read the
Associated Press report