No Cash Awarded, But $9.5M Fee Allowed
A federal judge in New Jersey has approved $9.5 million in attorney fees in an investor suit against Schering-Plough Corp. even though no money damages were awarded.
U.S. District Judge Katharine Sweeney Hayden said fees were justified because the company agreed to changes in its corporate governance, and the litigation involved complexity and risk, the New Jersey Law Journal reports.
The company will change its global compliance and audit functions, enhance communication between the board and management, and change the way board members are elected and paid.
The litigation was based on the company’s failure to obtain prompt approval for a new allergy drug, Clarinex, because of problems at two of its manufacturing plants.
Law firms that will share the fees are Morris & Morris in Wilmington; Squitieri & Fearon and Abraham Fruchter & Twersky, both in New York; and the law offices of Bernard Gross in Philadelphia.
