No. 22-517

Jenna Dickenson v. Charles T. Johnson, et al.

Lower Court: Eleventh Circuit
Docketed: 2022-12-05
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)
Tags: attorney-fees common-fund equitable-fund johnson-factors judicial-discretion lodestar-method percentage-fee percentage-of-fund perdue-v-kenny
Key Terms:
DueProcess Securities Privacy ClassAction
Latest Conference: 2023-04-14 (distributed 3 times)
Related Cases: 22-389 (Vide)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether district courts may be required to use the inherently subjective and effectively unreviewable Johnson factors to determine common-fund fee awards despite Perdue's rejection of the Johnson-factors approach

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED This Court has long held attorney’s fees may be awarded from a common fund or equitable fund based either on the attorney’s fees reasonably incurred and billed, see Trustees v. Greenough, 105 U.S. 527, 530-31, 537-38 (1882), or as a modest percentage of the fund, see Central RR & Banking Co. v. Pettus, 113 U.S. 116, 128 (1885)(cutting fee award from 10% to 5%). The Eleventh Circuit, however, requires district courts to calculate common-fund fee awards only as a percentage of the fund, mandating that they do so using the 12-factor approach of Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, 488 F.2d 714 (5th Cir.1974), that this Court has repudiated as too subjective to cabin trial courts’ discretion or even “to permit meaningful judicial review.” Perdue v. Kenny A. ex rel. Winn, 559 U.S. 542, 551-52 (2010). The questions presented are: 1. Whether district courts may be required to use the inherently subjective and effectively unreviewable Johnson factors to determine common-fund fee awards despite Perdue’s rejection of the Johnson-factors approach. 2. Whether district courts may be required to calculate common-fund attorney’s fees only as a percentage of the fund, or may instead award fees based on the attorney’s lodestar as is permitted by Courts of Appeals other than the Eleventh Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit. 3. Whether the Court of Appeals may mandate that district courts adopt a 25% “benchmark” for percent-offund attorney’s fee awards.

Docket Entries

2023-04-17
Petition DENIED.
2023-03-29
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/14/2023.
2023-03-13
Rescheduled.
2023-03-03
2023-03-01
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/17/2023.
2023-02-13
2023-01-18
Response Requested. (Due February 17, 2023)
2023-01-11
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/17/2023.
2022-12-09
Waiver of right of respondent Charles Johnson to respond filed.
2022-12-01
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 4, 2023)
2022-10-26
Application (22A343) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until December 1, 2022.
2022-10-21
Application (22A343) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from October 22, 2022 to December 21, 2022, submitted to Justice Thomas.

Attorneys

Charles Johnson
Ashley Conrad KellerKeller Postman LLC, Respondent
Ashley Conrad KellerKeller Postman LLC, Respondent
Jenna Dickenson
Eric Alan IsaacsonLaw Office of Eric Alan Isaacson, Petitioner
Eric Alan IsaacsonLaw Office of Eric Alan Isaacson, Petitioner