Also via the Colorado Civil Justice League May 21 newsletter: class members will receive $240,000 and a law firm representing the class will get $350,000 in fees following the settlement of an action against Chemins Company Inc. of Colorado Springs over mislabeled powdered protein supplements. The supplements allegedly contained twice as many carbohydrates and half as much protein as specified on their label. The settlement was billed as being worth $3 million but only 117 certified claimants stepped forward instead of the projected 10,000. Hill & Robbins had originally requested $600,000 in fees but the judge said $825 an hour was too much so he cut it to $481 an hour, which still leaves the lawyers with a bigger share of the booty than their clients. (Rocky Mountain News coverage: John Accola, “Class-action morass”, May 7; “Two lead plaintiffs won’t get bonuses”, May 7; “The class-action game and how to slow it”, (editorial), May 14; letter to the editor from attorney Ronald L. Wilcox of Hill & Robbins, May 14).

Filed under: class actions, Colorado