The representative plaintiff brought a motion for certification for settlement purposes and approval of a class action settlement concerning shipping charges paid by consumers returning defective video game controllers under warranty.
The settlement provided $20 reimbursement to approximately 400 customers and honoraria to the representative plaintiffs.
The court approved the settlement as fair and reasonable under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.
However, the court strongly criticized class counsel’s fee arrangement, which lacked a written retainer or contingency agreement and relied solely on recovering legal fees from the defendant through settlement.
Applying the statutory requirement that legal fees be fair and reasonable and proportionate to the results achieved, the court reduced the requested fees and awarded $30,000.
