"PCB plaintiffs in Alabama angered by millions paid to lawyers" is the headline to this AP story today in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Some quotes:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A $300 million settlement of federal claims over PCB contamination in Anniston will give plaintiffs an average of $7,725 each while paying their attorneys millions apiece — including $29 million to the firm of California celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr.Posted by Marcia Oddi at March 24, 2004 06:52 AMThe numbers, revealed in court documents and letters that plaintiffs are receiving this week, have provoked a furor in the east Alabama city, where many people already are seething over decades of pollution. * * *
Many of the people who filed claims are needy and had hoped for large payments. "They're upset by the amount the lawyers got," said Baker, president of Community Against Pollution.
Attorneys involved in the case said about 27 lawyers, working for eight different law firms, would share the $120 million approved for legal fees. That works out to an average payment of more than $4 million for each lawyer.
After the attorneys and other costs are paid, the 18,447 plaintiffs will get an average of $7,725 and as little as $500 each, according to documents from claims administrator Ed Gentle.