Attorneys Win Massive in $787.5 Million Fox Defamation Case

(Reuters) – The $787.5 million settlement that ended Dominion Voting Programs’ defamation lawsuit towards Fox Corp additionally marks the top of a profitable, two-year authorized battle for the sprawling groups of highly-paid attorneys on each side.

At the very least 31 attorneys from 9 totally different legislation corporations labored on the case, court docket filings present.

Dominion stated Fox Information broadcast false claims that the corporate’s voting machines had been concerned in a conspiracy to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and received one of many greatest settlements paid in a defamation lawsuit.

Delaware Superior Court docket Choose Eric Davis complimented the authorized groups in court docket after Tuesday’s settlement, saying he had not seen “nearly as good of lawyering” in 13 years on the bench.

Legislation agency Susman Godfrey, one among two corporations that represented Dominion within the case, was employed on a contingency, or success-fee, foundation, based on a supply conversant in the charge association.

The agency gave Dominion a “substantial low cost” as a result of it considered the case as pursuing accountability for election falsehoods, the supply stated.

It was not instantly clear how massive a share of the settlement the agency would obtain in authorized charges. A spokesperson for Dominion declined to remark.

Dominion accrued about $12.2 million in out-of-pocket authorized prices simply from November 2020 by way of October 2022, based on court docket filings, which listed legislation corporations and authorized consulting corporations retained by Dominion. The filings don’t embody current prices related to making ready for trial or the success charges attorneys may earn from the settlement.

Susman Godfrey helped pioneer the usage of contingency charges in enterprise litigation, a mannequin extra frequent for plaintiffs in personal-injury lawsuits. Such preparations, marketed on Susman’s web site, have included charges as excessive as one-third of a settlement in prior instances.

Companions at massive company legislation corporations like these representing Fox, in the meantime, typically invoice greater than $2,000 per hour, filings in different instances have proven.

Winston & Strawn and DLA Piper, which represented Fox Information and mum or dad firm Fox Corp, respectively, every fielded groups led by two companions and a number of associates, court docket filings present. The Winston & Strawn group was headed by Dan Webb, a high trial lawyer who represented Beef Merchandise Inc in a carefully watched defamation case towards ABC Information that settled in 2017 for not less than $177 million.

Fox Information additionally employed Paul Clement and Erin Murphy, high appeals court docket attorneys who’ve advocated for conservative causes on the U.S. Supreme Court docket.

The attorneys on the Fox group didn’t reply to requests for remark.

Dominion’s lead attorneys at Houston-founded Susman Godfrey included companions Justin Nelson, Stephen Shackelford and Davida Brook. The corporate additionally employed Clare Locke, a agency specializing in defamation instances that represented former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a libel lawsuit towards The New York Instances.

“We acknowledged immediately simply how momentous a problem this was, not just for Dominion, however for your entire nation and the integrity of elections,” Clare Locke associate Tom Clare informed Reuters.

Clare wouldn’t focus on authorized charges, however stated his agency’s small measurement permits it to be “versatile” in structuring agreements with shoppers.

Previous examples of contingency charge preparations present how profitable they are often if a case is profitable.

Susman Godfrey and one other plaintiffs’ agency earned about $106 million in 2018 underneath a contingency charge association in a category motion that secured $590 million in mixed settlements with main banks accused of manipulating the Libor benchmark rate of interest, based on court docket paperwork.

Final yr, the agency took in one-third of the money element of a $92.5 million class motion settlement to resolve allegations that Voya Retirement Insurance coverage and Annuity Firm breached its contract with tens of 1000’s of life insurance coverage policyholders, court docket data present.

Staple Avenue Capital Group LLC, the small buyout agency that owns Dominion can also be set to obtain a significant windfall from the settlement.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Further reporting by Helen Coster and Jack Queen; Enhancing by David Bario and Sonali Paul)

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