Halpain v. Adobe Systems Inc.

Filing 107

ORDER by Judge Lucy H. Koh granting as modified 97 Motion for Attorney's Fees (lhklc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/13/2015)

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Eric H. Gibbs (SBN 178658)
Dylan Hughes (SBN 209113)
David M. Berger (SBN 277526)
GIRARD GIBBS LLP
601 California Street, 14th Floor
San Francisco, California 94108
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

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Plaintiffs’ Interim Lead Class Counsel

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[Additional Plaintiffs’ Counsel Listed on Signature Page]

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN JOSE DIVISION
In re Adobe Systems Inc. Privacy Litigation

Lead Case No. 5:13-cv-05226-LHK
[Consolidated with Case Nos. 13-cv-05596-LHK,
13-cv-05611-LHK, 13-cv-05930-LHK,
14-cv-00014-LHK, 14-cv-00030-LHK, and
14-cv-00157-LHK]
[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR APPROVAL
OF ATTORNEY FEES

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[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING PLTFS’ MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF ATTORNEY FEES
LEAD CASE NO. 5:13-cv-05226-LHK

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This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Approval of Attorney Fees [ECF

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No. 97], which was filed in connection with Plaintiffs’ Motion for Approval of Voluntary Dismissal of

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Putative Class Claims Pursuant to Settlement [ECF No. 87] and pursuant to the Court’s order of June

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10, 2015 [ECF No. 90]. Having reviewed the arguments and evidence submitted in support of the

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motion, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion and finds as follows:

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1.

In settlement of Plaintiffs’ claim for attorney fees and expenses under California’s

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private attorney general statute, Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1021.5, and as part of the parties’ mediated

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individual settlement [ECF No. 87-2], Defendant Adobe Systems Inc. has agreed to pay Plaintiffs’

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counsel $1,180,000 in attorney fees and expenses.

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2.

The Court has reviewed the declarations submitted by Plaintiffs’ lead counsel, Eric H.

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Gibbs [ECF Nos. 87-1, 98]; the contemporaneous billing records submitted by Plaintiffs’ counsel; each

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attorney’s, paralegal’s, and staff member’s billing rates; and the justifications for those billing rates.

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3.

The Court finds that class counsel reasonably spent 2,539.8 hours representing the

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interests of Adobe consumers through this litigation, finds counsel’s hourly rates to be reasonable and

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in line with the prevailing rates in the community for complex litigation, and finds that $1,281,952 is a

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reasonable lodestar value for the legal services provided by Plaintiffs’ counsel.

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4.

The Court has also considered the factors that can support upward or downward

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adjustments of counsel’s lodestar under California law and finds that those factors—in particular, the

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contingency risk that counsel faced in pursuing this lawsuit—could support an upward adjustment.

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5.

Based on the Court’s analysis of counsel’s lodestar and the factors that might support an

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award of a fee multiplier, the Court finds Adobe’s agreement to pay $1,180,000 to be a reasonable

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settlement of counsel’s claim for attorney fees and expenses under California’s private attorney general

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statute. The Court finds no evidence that Adobe has agreed to pay a fee measurably higher than it

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could conceivably have to pay were the fee amount litigated.

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6.

Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ Motion for Approval of Attorney Fees [ECF

No. 97], payable by Adobe as provided for in the parties’ Settlement Agreement [ECF No. 87-2].

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[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING PLTFS’ MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF ATTORNEY FEES
CASE NO. 5:13-cv-05226-LHK

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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August 13, 2015
Dated: _____________

________________________________
LUCY H. KOH
United States District Judge

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[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING PLTFS’ MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF ATTORNEY FEES
CASE NO. 5:13-cv-05226-LHK