Weller et al v. HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc. et al

Filing 172

ORDER granting 164 Plaintiff's Unopposed Motion for Attorneys' Fees, Reimbursement of Expenses, and Case Service Awards and Memorandum in Support Thereof. By Judge Robert E. Blackburn on 10/20/2015.(mlace, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge Robert E. Blackburn
Civil Action No. 13-cv-00185-REB-MJW
JACK WELLER,
GLADYS WOODEN,
MATT WOODEN,
JAMES HOOVER,
KIMBERLY HOOVER and
DAVID MINCEL, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
HSBC FINANCE CORPORATION,
HSBC MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC.,
HSBC BANK USA, N.A.,
HSBC MORTGAGE CORPORATION (USA),
HSBC CONSUMER LENDING (USA) INC.,
BENEFICIAL COMPANY LLC,
BENEFICIAL FINANCIAL I INC.,
HFC COMPANY LLC,
ASSURANT, INC.,
AMERICAN SECURITY INSURANCE COMPANY,
STANDARD GUARANTY INSURANCE COMPANY,
VOYAGER INDEMNITY INSURANCE COMPANY, and
JOHN DOES 1-10,
Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ UNOPPOSED MOTION
FOR AWARD OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, REIMBURSEMENT OF
EXPENSES AND CASE CONTRIBUTION AWARDS
Blackburn, J.
The matter before the court is Plaintiff’s Unopposed Motion for Attorneys’
Fees, Reimbursement of Expenses, and Case Service Awards and Memorandum

in Support Thereof [#164],1 filed August 17, 2015. I held a hearing on this motion in
connection with the final fairness hearing to consider the parties settlement of these
consolidated class actions on October 16, 2015. Having approved the Settlement
Agreement as fair, reasonable, and adequate (see Order Granting Plaintiffs’
Unopposed Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement, Certification of
Settlement Class, and Approval of Plan of Allocation [#171], filed October 19,
2015), and having considered the evidence presented, arguments raised, and
authorities cited by the parties in connection with the instant motion in both their written
submission and at the hearing, I find and conclude that the motion is well-taken and
should be granted.2
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED as follows:
1. That Plaintiff’s Unopposed Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, Reimbursement
of Expenses, and Case Service Awards and Memorandum in Support Thereof
[#164], filed August 17, 2015, is granted;
2. That Class Counsel are awarded attorney fees of $600,000, as well as
reimbursement for expenses of $57,766.82, to be paid from the Settlement Fund;
provided, further, that the court finds that the amount of fees awarded is appropriate,
fair, and reasonable given the substantial risks of non-recovery, the time and effort
involved, and the result obtained for the Settlement Class; and

1

“[#164]” is an example of the convention I use to identify the docket number assigned to a
specific paper by the court’s case management and electronic case filing system (CM/ECF). I use this
convention throughout this order.
2
All capitalized terms used herein shall have the same meaning as set forth in the Settlement
Agreement dated April 10, 2015, and filed with the court.

2

3. That each of the three groups of named plaintiffs (Gladys and Matt Wooden,
James and Kimberly Hoover, and David Mincel) who entered into the Settlement
Agreement is awarded $5,000 as a Case Contribution Award, for a total of $15,000, as
defined in the Settlement Agreement, in recognition of their contributions to this action.
Dated October 20, 2015, at Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:

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