Common benefit funds are increasingly utilized in not only class actions, but in other complex litigation including multidistrict litigations (MDL). The primary goal of common benefit funds is to provide fair and equitable compensation to those plaintiffs’ attorneys who take the laboring oar in complex litigation, which efforts then inure not only to the benefit of their individual clients but to all plaintiffs in the litigation.
Common benefit funds also provide a mechanism not only to incentivize plaintiffs’ attorneys to organize and centralize litigation tasks, but also to coordinate collection of financial assessments from counsel necessary to fund required litigation activities, including document collection and review, expert witness retention and discovery, common fact depositions and pre-trial motion practice.
Although common benefit funds serve a unique and invaluable purpose, they also present challenges. Specifically, given the number of attorneys representing separate groups of plaintiffs in these complex litigations, there often are inevitable disputes as to whether individual attorneys and their firms received an equitable allocation from the common benefit fund at the end of the litigation. There are several steps that can be taken to help reduce and even eliminate challenges to common benefit fund allocations, the most important of which is to inject independent oversight of the common benefit process at the outset of the litigation. This oversight is accomplished by appointing a special master/special adjudicator to oversee submissions regarding common benefit fees and expenses, recommend allocations to the court, and mediate any disputes.
Our Experience
Judge Corodemus has experience in dealing with complex litigation management including common benefit fund issues, not only from the bench but also from her many years serving as a true neutral and special master. At Corodemus and Corodemus, we are able to provide all counsel with the confidence of knowing that common benefit fund oversight, issues, and any challenges will be handled by a true neutral with experience.