Harden Mfg. Corp. v. Pfizer Inc. (In re Neurontin Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig.)

• Decision Date: 10 November 2014
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 04–10981–PBS.
• Citation: 58 F.Supp.3d 167
• Parties: In re NEURONTIN MARKETING AND SALES PRACTICES LITIGATION. This Document Relates to: Harden Manufacturing Corp., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Pfizer Inc., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

58 F.Supp.3d 167

In re NEURONTIN MARKETING AND SALES PRACTICES LITIGATION.

This Document Relates to: Harden Manufacturing Corp., et al., Plaintiffs

v.Pfizer Inc., et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 04–10981–PBS.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

Signed Nov. 10, 2014.

Gordon Ball, Ball & Scott, Knoxville, TN, Thomas M. Greene, Greene LLP, Boston, MA, Mary Ann Mullaney, The Axelrod Firm, PC, Craig L. Hymowitz, Blank Rome LLP, Philadelphia, PA, W. Scott Simmer, Thomas J. Poulin, Simmer Law Group, PLLC, Washington, DC, Barry Himmelstein, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, San Francisco, CA, Daniel E. Becnel, Jr., Becnel law Firm, Reserve, LA, Don Barrett, Barrett Law Office, Lexington, MS, James R. Dugan, II, The Dugan Law Firm, New Orleans, LA, Thomas M. Sobol, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Cambridge, MA, Eleanor Louise Polimeni, Finkelstein & Partners, LLP, Newburgh, NY, Harris L. Pogust, Cuneo, Pogust & Mason LLP, Conshohocken, PA, Richard E. Shevitz, Cohen & Malad LLP, Indianapolis, IN, Linda P. Nussbaum, Grant & Eisenhofer PA, New York, NY, Richard Bemporad, Lowey Dannenberg Bemporad & Selinger, P.C., White Plains, NY, Jack W. London, Jack W. London & Associates P.C., Austin, TX, Jonathan S. Coleman, Johnson, Pope, Okor, Ruppel & Burns LLP, Tampa, FL, Keith L. Altman, Kenneth L. Oliver, Marshall P. Richer, Andrew G. Finkelstein, Finkelstein & Partners, LLP, Newburgh, NY, Anne MacArthur, Habush, Habush & Rottier, S.C., Madison, WI, Donald S. Edgar, Law Office of Donald S. Edgar, Jeremy R. Fietz, Edgar Law Firm, Santa Rosa, CA, for Plaintiffs.

Harden Manufacturing Corporation, pro se.

Lowey Dannenberg Bemporad & Selinger, P.C., pro se.

Aaron D. Van Oort, John P. Mandler, Joseph M. Price, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Minneapolis, MN, Adam S. Tolin, Evan W. Davis, Dechert LLP, Philadelphia, PA, Andrew Burns Johnson, Brian A. Wahl, Fred M. (Tripp) Haston, III, James W. Gewin, John E. Goodman, Bradley, Arant, Rose & White, Birmingham, AL, Andrew H. Myers, Craig Ruvel May, James E. Hooper, Edwin J. Kilpela, Jr., Matthew E. Johnson, Sean G. Saxon, Stephanie A. Reedy, Stephen E. Oertle, Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP, Denver, CO, Catherine B. Stevens, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, Christopher J. Roche, Daniel F. Schubert, Deborah L. MacGregor, James P. Rouhandeh, Lindsay R. Skibell, Paul S. Mishkin, Davis Polk & Wardwell, David Weinraub, Katherine Armstrong, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, Katherine A. Lyon, Mary Lou Strange, Sheila L. Birnbaum, Andrew Muscato, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, Carolyn C. Wu, Scott A. Edelman, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, New York, NY, Darolyn Yoshie Hamada, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Irvine, CA, Ezra D. Rosenberg, Dechert LLP, Princeton, NJ, Brigette L. Mitchell, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, James P. Muehlberger, Douglas B. Maddock, Jr., William A. Alford, III, Shook Hardy and Bacon, Lori C. McGroder, Kansas City, MO, James B. Murphy, Jr., Scott William Anderson, Shook Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., Tampa, FL, Kenneth Joseph Ferguson, Leslie Anne Benitez, Jeffrey R. Lilly, Clark Thomas & Winters, Susan E. Burnett, Lark A. Campbell, Gordon & Rees, Susan E. Burnett, Jack W. London, Jack W. London & Associates P.C., Austin, TX, Kimberly H. Clancy, Catherine Marie Valerio Barrad, Sidley Austin, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Lori R. Schultz, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., Olathe, KS, Nicholas Patrick Mizell, Scott W. Sayler, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Lori C. McGroder, Kansas City, MO, Philip Henry Butler, Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP, Montgomery, AL, Raoul D. Kennedy, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP, Palo Alto, CA, Thomas P. Hanrahan, Sidley & Austin, Los Angeles, CA, Thomas Kane, Dechert LLP, Princeton, NJ, Carter H. Burwell, Edmund Polubinski, III, Neal A. Potischman, Nahal Kazemi, Paul S. Mishkin, Lindsay R. Skibell, Erik March Zissu, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Thomas E. Fox, Steven F. Napolitano, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, Mark S. Cheffo, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, New York City, NY, Bonnie J. Beaven, Cheryl Zak Lardieri, Richard M. Barnes, James A. Frederick, Charles P. Goodell, Jr., Michael J. Wasicko, Michael A. Pichini, Michele R. Kendus, Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP, Baltimore, MD, Geoffrey M. Wyatt, Jessica D. Miller, John H. Beisner, Sheila L. Birnbaum, Mary Lou Strange, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Ericka L. Kleiman, Shook, Hardy and Bacon, LLP, Washington, DC, Daniel E. Holloway, Jack Wilson, William S. Ohlemeyer, Lisa Nousek, Mauricio A. Gonzalez, Boies Schiller & Flexner, LLP, Armonk, NY, Chad W. Higgins, Goodwin Procter LLP, Daniel J. Dwyer, Daniel J. Lyne, Murphy & King, PC, Boston, MA, Lisa J. Rodriguez, Rodriguez & Richards, LLC, Haddonfield, NJ, Jeffrey M. Wakefield, Flaherty Sensabaugh & Bonasso, Charleston, WV, Lori R. Schultz, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., Olathe, KS, Steven J. Ellison, Faegre & Benson LLP, Mpls., MN, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SARIS, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

This Court has separately issued a Final Order and Judgment approving the class action settlement.

Class Counsel have moved pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(h), 54(d), and 52(a) for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses. Having held a hearing on October 22, 2014 and considered all of the submissions and arguments, the Court now ALLOWS the motion with a fee award percentage of 28% of the common fund.

BACKGROUND

This petition for attorneys' fees arises out of the settlement of a nationwide, decade-long multi-district litigation against Pfizer, Inc. and Warner–Lambert Company (collectively “Pfizer”) for a fraudulent scheme to promote and sell the drug Neurontin

for “off-label” conditions. Harden Manufacturing Corp., Louisiana Health Service Indemnity Company, and ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 Health Benefits Trust are the representatives of a nationwide class of third-party payors (“TPPs”) who covered the cost of Neurontin during the period since its first sale in the United States. The beneficiaries range from very small Taft–Hartley funds to large payors. There is also a subclass of indirect purchasers (“Subclass A”), represented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, who alleged that Pfizer violated antitrust laws.

The factual and procedural background of this case is set forth in Harden v. Pfizer, 712 F.3d 60, 61–66 (1st Cir.2013), cert. denied, ––– U.S. ––––, 134 S.Ct. 786, 187 L.Ed.2d 594 (2013) ; Kaiser v. Pfizer, 712 F.3d 21, 25–27 (1st Cir.2013), cert. denied, ––– U.S. ––––, 134 S.Ct. 786, 187 L.Ed.2d 594 (2013) ; In re Neurontin Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 754 F.Supp.2d 293, 296–308 (D.Mass.2010) ; In re Neurontin Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 677 F.Supp.2d 479, 484–91 (D.Mass.2010) ; In re Neurontin Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 257 F.R.D. 315, 317–18 (D.Mass.2009) ; In re Neurontin Mktg. & Sale Practices Litig., 244 F.R.D. 89, 92–103 (D.Mass.2007) ; see also Kaiser v. Pfizer, 748 F.Supp.2d 34, 38–81 (D.Mass.2010).

The settlement has resulted in a common fund of $325 million. Class Plaintiffs have requested that the Court award Class Counsel fees and expenses amounting to 33 1/3% of the settlement fund, $108.33 million dollars.¹ There is no separate request for reimbursement of litigation-related expenses, which amount to $4.38 million.

DISCUSSION

A. Legal Framework

Under the “common fund doctrine,” attorneys whose efforts lead to the creation of a fund for the benefit of the class are “entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee from the fund as a whole.” Boeing Co. v. Van Gemert, 444 U.S. 472, 478, 100 S.Ct. 745, 62 L.Ed.2d 676 (1980). In common fund cases, a “district court, in the exercise of its informed discretion, may calculate counsel fees either on a percentage of the fund basis or by fashioning a lodestar.” In re Thirteen Appeals Arising out of San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Litig., 56 F.3d 295, 307 (1st Cir.1995). The fee must be based on a percentage of the fund which the Court deems “reasonable.” Id. at 305.

In weighing a common fund request, courts generally consider the following so-called Goldberger factors: “(1) the size of the fund and the number of persons benefitted; (2) the skill, experience, and efficiency of the attorneys involved; (3) the complexity and duration of the litigation; (4) the risks of the litigation; (5) the amount of time devoted to the case by counsel; (6) awards in similar cases; and (7) public policy considerations.” In re Lupron Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., No. MDL 1430, 01–CV–10861–RGS, 2005 WL 2006833, at *3 (D.Mass. Aug. 17, 2005), citing Goldberger v. Integrated Res., Inc., 209 F.3d 43, 50 (2d Cir.2000) ; Third Circuit Task Force, Court Awarded Attorneys Fees, 108 F.R.D. 237, 255–56 (1985).

In so-called “megafund” cases, defined as those which yield settlement funds of over $100 million, some courts have adopted a practice of lowering the fee award percentage as the size of the settlement increases to avoid giving attorneys a windfall at the plaintiffs' expense. See, e.g., In re Citigroup Inc. Bond. Litig., 988 F.Supp.2d 371, 374–75 (S.D.N.Y.2013) (setting fee award at 16% of $730 million common fund); Kifafi v. Hilton Hotels Ret. Plan, 999 F.Supp.2d 88, 100, 104 (D.D.C.2013) (setting fee award at 15% of $140 million common fund). The Manual for Complex Litigation has noted this trend, pointing out that “[o]ne court's survey of fee awards in class actions with recoveries exceeding $100 million found fee percentages ranging from 4.1% to 17.92%.” Federal Judicial Center, Manual for Complex Litigation—Fourth 188–89 (2004), citing In re Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. Sales Practices Litig., 148 F.3d 283, 339–40 (3rd Cir.1998). Additionally, Professor Brian T. Fitzpatrick submitted a helpful affidavit in this case compiling several recent unpublished cases with common funds similar in size to the one here. Fitzpatrick Aff., Table 2, citing New England Carpenters Health Benefits Fund v. First Databank, Inc., No. 05–11148–PBS, 2009 WL 2408560, at *2 (D.Mass...