Birchmeier v. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc.

In class action under Telephone Consumer Protection Act seeking damages for unsolicited communications, Dist. Ct. did not err in approving proposed settlement that: (1) required defendants to pay between $56 million and $76 million into settlement fund; and (2) set attorneys’ fees on sliding scale that gave counsel 35 percent of first $10 million paid into settlement fund, then 30 percent of next $29 million paid into fund, then 24 percent of next $36 million paid into fund, and 18 percent of any additional recovery. While fee awards were greater than what had been awarded in comparable cases, said awards did not represent abuse of discretion since legal risks were greater in instant case, because plaintiffs presented novel legal theory of vicarious liability, where plaintiffs sought to impose liability on entities who merely authorized others to make said telephone calls. Also, Dist. Ct. did not err in failing to grant incentive award to one class member who proposed idea of instant sliding fee scale, since said proposal did not add even marginal value to instant litigation and idea of sliding scale would have been considered by Dist. Ct. absent class member's proposal. Ct. further rejected another class member’s claim that proposed settlement improperly covered claims outside defined time period of class action.