Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Brown

How later courts describe this case

• holding that award of attorneys' fees based upon percentage of fund is not per se an abuse of discretion.
• holding, in reliance on Blum, that award of attorneys' fees on percentage basis in common fund case not abuse of discretion, but requiring that fee award be reasonable and that district court articulate specific reasons to facilitate appellate review
• noting that the Johnson factors are relevant to the percentage that should be awarded
• “[b]eeause [the lodestar] factors measure the attorneys’ contributions, they are also appropriate in setting and reviewing percentage fee awards in common fund cases”
• expert testimony as to names, rules and coded language of organized crime families admissible
• denying recovery for clean-up costs under Missouri law
• $75 million class recovery, fee of 16.5%