NIEMAN v. DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION

CLASS ACTION ATTORNEYS' FEES ORDER

MAX O. COGBURN, Jr., District Judge.

THIS MATTER having come before the Court on August 12, 2015, on the motion of Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and expenses and Lead Plaintiff's expenses in the litigation, and the Court, having considered all papers filed and proceedings conducted herein, having found the settlement of this litigation to be fair, reasonable and adequate, and otherwise being fully informed in the premises and good cause appearing therefore;

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that:

1. This Order incorporates by reference the definitions in the Stipulation of Settlement dated March 5, 2015 (the "Stipulation") and all capitalized terms used, but not defined herein, shall have the same meanings as set forth in the Stipulation.

2. This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this application and all matters relating thereto, including all members of the Settlement Class who have not timely and validly requested exclusion.

3. The Court hereby awards Lead Counsel attorneys' fees of 18% of the Settlement Fund, plus expenses in the amount of $191,738.27, together with the interest earned on both amounts for the same time period and at the same rate as that earned on the Settlement Fund until paid. The Court finds that the amount of fees awarded is appropriate and that the amount of fees awarded is fair and reasonable under the "percentage-of-recovery" method after an analysis of relevant factors outlined by the Fifth Circuit in Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 488 F.2d 714-717-19 (5th Cir. 1974), which were adopted by the Fourth Circuit in Barber v. Kimbrell's, 577 F.2d 216, 226 (4th Cir. 1978). In so doing, the court has considered the objections to the fee award filed by Donald Robert Pierson II and Fiduciary Counselors, Inc. While plaintiffs' counsel requested 24.5%, the requested lodestar multiplier of 8.75 (which is merely a crosscheck) is far beyond the range courts have found acceptable in other large securities actions. Most courts agree that the typical lodestar multiplier in a large post-PSLRA securities class actions ranges from 1.3 to 4.5. In re Cendant Corp. PRIDES Litigation, 243 F.3d 722 (3rd Cir. 2001). A multiplies of 4.5 would, in the circumstances of this case, be inappropriately too low. Where courts do approve a particularly high multiplier, they have held, as follows:

In re Cardinal Health Inc. Securities Litigations, 528 F.Supp.2d 752, 768 (S.D.Ohio 2007). Even at 18%, the multiplier remains high, but is facially reasonable under the circumstances of this action wherein counsel took substantial risk, results were not assured, the legal issues were difficult, and the class was broad. The amount of the settlement and the efficiency of counsel in reaching such a resolution reinforce an upward variance from a 4.5 multiplier, but not an 8.0 multiplier. Considering all of the arguments presented, the court finds that the work accomplished in this case — which was substantial — is reasonably compensated by an 18% fee when the Johnson factors are considered and then cross-checked.

4. The fees and expenses shall be allocated among plaintiffs' Counsel in a manner which, in Lead Counsel's good-faith judgment, reflects each such counsel's contribution to the institution, prosecution, and resolution of the litigation. Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §77z-1(a)(4) and 15 U.S.C. §78u-4(a)(4), Lead Plaintiff Amalgamated Bank is awarded $20,612.50 for its representation of the Settlement Class during the litigation.

5. The awarded attorneys' fees and expenses and interest earned thereon, shall immediately be paid to Lead Counsel subject to the terms, conditions, and obligations of the Stipulation, and in particular ¶¶8.1-8.2 thereof, which terms, conditions, and obligations are incorporated herein.

ORDER

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that Lead Counsel's Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees and Expenses (ECF No. 96) is GRANTED attorneys' fees of 18% of the Settlement Fund are ALLOWED, plus expenses in the amount of $191,738.27, together with the interest earned on both amounts for the same time period and at the same rate as that earned on the Settlement Fund until paid. Lead Plaintiff Amalgamated Bank is awarded $20,612.50 for its representation of the Settlement Class during the litigation.