3 firms get $23.1M in fees in Wells Fargo class action deal

A federal judge in Santa Ana approved $23.1 million in attorney fees for an Irvine law firm and two co-counsel following a $417 million settlement of a class action against Wells Fargo Bank over auto insurance coverage.

Senior U.S. District Judge James V. Selna approved the attorney fees Monday along with $260,000 in litigation costs. Herrera et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A., 18-CV-00332 (C.D. Cal., filed Feb. 27, 2018).

The plaintiffs' firms are Frank Sims & Stolper LLP along with Franklin D. Azar & Associates and Philadelphia lawyer Charles E. Schaffer of Levin Sedran & Berman.

The case stems from the bank's practice of failing to refund unearned fees after a customer paid off their auto finance agreement before the original maturity date.

Wells Fargo argued it is not responsible for issuing these refunds, and that customers are required to get them from the auto dealerships. Plaintiffs, however, maintained that Wells Fargo has a contractual and legal obligation to issue the refunds as the assignee of the agreements.

The two sides reached an agreement in mediation with the assistance of former U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford, who was the original judge in the case and subsequently handled settlement talks as a Judicate West neutral.

McGuireWoods LLP and Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders represented the bank and did not object to the attorney fee award.

Under terms of the settlement, Wells Fargo will provide at least four years of future refunds to customers around the country who pay off their finance agreements early, according to a filing by Jason M. Frank, a partner with Frank Sims & Stolper.

-- Craig Anderson