MICHAEL A. PONSOR, District Judge.
On August 5, 2014, this Court entered its "Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Settlement, Directing Notice to the Class, and Scheduling Fairness Hearing" (ECF No. 261) ("Preliminary Approval Order"), preliminarily approving the Settlement Agreement entered into by the parties in the above-captioned action, and scheduling a hearing ("Fairness Hearing") to determine (a) whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate, free from collusion, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class and whether the Settlement should be finally approved by the Court, (b) whether a judgment as provided for in the parties' Stipulation of Settlement should be entered, (c) to consider an application by Class Counsel for service awards to the Class Representatives, (d) to consider an application by Class Counsel for approval of Prudential's payment of attorneys' fees and reimbursed expenses to Class Counsel; (e) whether the court should grant final certification of the Class under FRCP 23(a) and (b)(3); and (f) to rule upon any other matters as the court may deem appropriate. Notice was subsequently mailed to the 67,027 members of the Settlement Class.
Plaintiffs subsequently filed motions seeking final approval of the Settlement as well as approval of their attorneys' fees, expenses, and service awards, and the Court held a Fairness Hearing on December 8, 2014. The Court has considered: (i) the points and authorities submitted in support of the motion for final approval of the Settlement ("Final Approval Motion"); (ii) the points and authorities submitted in support of the Motion for Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Incentive Awards ("Fee Motion"); (iii) the declarations and exhibits submitted in support of the foregoing motions; (iv) the comments and objections received by the Court from Class Members and others; (v) the terms of the Settlement itself; (vi) the entire record in this proceeding, including but not limited to the points and authorities, declarations, and exhibits submitted in support of preliminary approval of the Settlement, filed August 1, 2014 (ECF Nos. 257-259); (vii) the Notice previously approved by the Court; (vii) the de minimis number of Class Members who requested exclusion; (viii) the existence of only 11 objections to the Settlement out of 67,027 Settlement Class Members; (ix) this Court's experiences and observations while presiding over the Action; (x) the Court's file herein; and (xi) the relevant law.
Based upon these considerations and the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law as set forth in the Preliminary Approval Order and in this Final Approval Order and Judgment, and good cause appearing:
Settlement Class Members (as defined below at paragraph 4 below), including objectors. The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action, including, without limitation, jurisdiction to approve the Settlement, to settle and release all claims alleged in the action and all claims released by the Settlement, to adjudicate any objections submitted to the proposed Settlement and to dismiss this Action with prejudice. All Settlement Class Members, by failing to exclude themselves according to the Court's prior orders and the terms of the prior notices of the pendency of the Action, have consented to the jurisdiction of this Court for purposes of this Action and the Settlement of this Action. Jurisdiction is predicated upon, inter alia, 28 U.S.C. §1331 and other applicable law. Venue in this District is appropriate pursuant to the Order of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on February 4, 2011 and other applicable law.
"Settlement Class" means, subject to the exclusions listed below, the following persons: All individuals (a) who were beneficiaries of the group life insurance contract between the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Prudential Insurance Company of America for Servicemembers Group Life Insurance ("SGLI") (including the family coverage provided by Public Law 107-14 ("Family SGLI")) and/or Veterans Group Life Insurance ("VGLI"), (b) who made claims (or on whose behalf claims were made) for lump sum benefits prior to November 2010, and (c) whose claims were settled by Prudential through the use of an Alliance Account.
For the reasons set forth in the Preliminary Approval Order, and Plaintiffs' memorandum of points and authorities in support thereof, the Court confirms the certification of the Settlement Class pursuant to Rule 23, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the appointment of Class Counsel and the Class Representatives, for the reasons set forth in the Preliminary Approval Order.
A. There is no evidence of collusion. The proposed Settlement, as set forth in the Settlement Agreement, resulted from extensive arm's-length negotiation. The Action was extensively and vigorously litigated prior to any settlement. Plaintiffs and Prudential engaged in intensive arm's-length negotiations, over the course of multiple negotiating sessions, including several settlement conferences before this Court. These extensive negotiations resulted in the proposed settlement reflected by the Settlement Agreement.
B. The Settlement provides for fair and adequate cash payments to all Settlement Class Members, particularly in light of this Court's November 22, 2013 order regarding available damages, as well as substantial charitable payments to charities serving survivors and veterans, the communities from which the Settlement Class Members are drawn. These benefits are not reduced by attorneys' fees, litigation expenses, notice expenses, settlement administration expenses, or the requested incentive awards for the Class Representatives, since such amounts are all separately provided for. The Court has considered the realistic range of outcomes in this matter, including whether Plaintiffs claims would be dismissed before trial, the amount Plaintiffs might receive if they prevailed at trial, the strength and weaknesses of the case, the novelty and number of the complex legal issues involved, the risk that Plaintiffs would receive less than the Settlement Relief or take nothing, and the risk of a reversal of any judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs. The total value of the Settlement, approximately $39 million, is fair, reasonable and adequate in view of these factors. The Settlement value is well within a range of reasonableness.
C. Before reaching the Settlement, Plaintiffs and Prudential vigorously litigated their claims and defenses before this Court, as described in the Joint Declaration of Lead Class Counsel (ECF No. 284.)
D. Before reaching the Settlement, Plaintiffs and Prudential conducted extensive discovery, as described in the Joint Declaration of Lead Class Counsel (ECF No. 284.)
E. Based upon this extensive litigation of relevant legal issues affecting this litigation and extensive investigation of the underlying facts in discovery, Plaintiffs and Prudential were fully informed of the legal bases for the claims and defenses herein, and capable of balancing the risks of continued litigation (both before this Court and on appeal) and the benefits of the proposed Settlement.
F. The Settlement Class is and was at all times adequately represented by the Class Representatives and Class Counsel, including in litigating the Action and in entering into the Settlement. Class Counsel and the Representative Plaintiffs have satisfied the requirements of Rule 23, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and applicable law. Class Counsel have fully and competently prosecuted all causes of action, claims, theories of liability, and remedies reasonably available to the Settlement Class Members. Further, both Class Counsel and Prudential's Counsel are highly experienced trial lawyers with specialized knowledge in insurance litigation, and complex class action litigation generally. Class Counsel and Prudential's Counsel are capable of properly assessing the risks, expenses, and duration of continued litigation, including at trial and on appeal, and in the opinion of Class Counsel the Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate for the Settlement Class Members. Prudential denies all allegations of wrongdoing and disclaims any liability, fault, or wrongdoing of any kind with respect to any and all allegations and claims asserted by Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class, including their claims regarding the propriety of class certification. Neither the Settlement Agreement, nor any of its terms or provisions, nor any of the negotiations or proceedings connected with it, shall be construed as an admission or concession by Prudential of the truth of any of the allegations in this litigation or of any liability, fault, or wrongdoing of any kind. Prudential agrees that the proposed Settlement will provide substantial benefits to Settlement Class Members.
G. The Notice to the Class ordered by this Court by U.S. Mail constitutes the best practicable notice of the pendency of this class action, of the Settlement, the Fairness Hearing, and of Settlement Class Members' rights and options, including their rights to opt out, to object to the Settlement, and/or to appear at the Fairness Hearing in support of a properly submitted objection, and of the binding effect of the orders and Judgment in this Action, whether favorable or unfavorable, on all Settlement Class Members. Said notices have fully satisfied all notice requirements under the law, including the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and all due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.
H. The Court finds that all notices and requirements of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), 28 U.S.C. § 1715, have been satisfied. The notices required by 28 U.S.C. § 1715(b) were mailed by the Class Administrator on August 11, 2014. More than ninety (90) days have passed since the service of the foregoing notices.
I. The response of the Settlement Class strongly favors final approval of the Settlement. Out of the 67,027 notices of the pendency of this class action mailed to the members of the class, only 28 valid requests for exclusion were received (including the three late requests). In addition, as discussed below, only eleven objections were received.
J. Of the eleven objections received by the Court, eight argue that Prudential did nothing wrong (ECF Nos. 281, 285, 286, 288, 289, 293, 295, 296). Three of the objectors (ECF Nos. 278, 290, 293) argue that the settlement relief is inadequate, one argues that the settlement should have determined the merits of the lawsuit (ECF No. 293), one argues that the class representative incentive awards are excessive (ECF No. 293), and four urge the Court to grant less than the requested attorneys' fees (ECF Nos. 276, 281, 288, 293) (although without analyzing the arguments or evidence presented in the Fee Motion). The Court finds that none of these objections,
The Released Parties may file the Agreement and/or this Final Approval Order and Judgment in any action that may be brought against them in order to support a defense or counterclaim based on principles of res judicata, collateral estoppel, release, good faith settlement, judgment bar, reduction, set-off, or any other theory of claim preclusion or issue preclusion or similar defense or counterclaim.
This Court has reviewed at length Class Counsel's submissions in support of their application. The "prevailing praxis" within the First Circuit is to use the percentage-of-the-fund ("POF") approach to calculate attorneys' fees in non-statutory fee cases. In re Thirteen Appeals Arising Out of San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Litig., 56 F.3d 295, 307 (1st Cir. 1995); Nilsen v. York Cnty., 400 F.Supp.2d 266, 270-71 (D. Me. 2005). The Court finds that the requested fees are 24.8% of the total settlement, a percentage that is reasonable in this matter and in line with the general range in this Circuit. See In re Lupron, 2005 WL 2006833, at *5 (awarding 25% of the settlement to MDL counsel and provisionally awarding another 5% to other counsel); In re Relafen, 231 F.R.D. at 82 (awarding 33.3% of the settlement); In re Indigo Sec. Litig., 995 F.Supp. 233, 235 (D. Mass. 1998) (awarding 30% of the settlement); Pavlidis v. New England Patriots Football Club, Inc., 675 F.Supp. 707, 710 (D. Mass. 1987) (noting that "[f]ees in the 20%-50% range in common fund class actions are not uncommon and have been held to be reasonable" and awarding approximately 26% of the settlement). The Court has observed the zealousness with which Class Counsel prosecuted this Action for over four years, and the high quality of Class Counsel's representation of the Settlement Class throughout that time. The representation was on a contingent-fee basis with no assurance that Class Counsel would be compensated for their years of effort on behalf of the Class. It was in this challenging context that Class Counsel succeeded in negotiating a beneficial Settlement for the Settlement Class Members. This effort well warrants the requested 24.8% of the total settlement.
The Court further finds that the requested attorneys' fees are reasonable when the percentage of the fund is cross-checked against the lodestar. Class Counsel's lodestar is approximately $11.9 million, making the requested fees 0.81 of the lodestar. Class Counsel's hourly rates reasonable for complex class action litigation, and are commensurate with the skill and experience of the participating attorneys and their legal support. Likewise, the amount of time devoted to the Action was reasonable, given Prudential's vigorous defense of Plaintiffs' claims.
The Court also finds that the expenses to be reimbursed to Class Counsel, which are less than the amount provided for by the Settlement Agreement, are reasonable and were necessary to the representation of this action.
Accordingly, given the foregoing factors and the result obtained for the Class, the Court finds the negotiated Class Counsel Attorneys' fees and Class Counsel Expenses to be reasonable, and approves payment to Class Counsel of attorneys' fees in the total amount of $9.7 million plus litigation expenses in the total amount of $420,284.52. The Court directs Prudential to pay these amounts to Class Counsel in accordance with the provisions of the Settlement Agreement.
The amount of these service awards shall not affect or reduce the Settlement Relief generally payable to any Settlement Class Member, including to Plaintiffs, under the Settlement, and shall not affect or reduce the amount of attorneys' fees and litigation expenses payable to Class Counsel under the Settlement Agreement and this Final Approval Order and Judgment.
It is So Ordered.