Law firms fight over $8M Tezos lawsuit settlement fee

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The long-running Tezos class action lawsuit may have come to an end a month ago, but the two legal firms involved are now engaged in a battle over the huge fee earned from the settlement. The two accuse each other of unnecessary antics as they fight for a fair share of the $8.3 million fee they earned.

Tezos legal battle with its investors ended in late August, with the company agreeing to a $25 million settlement with its investors. A judge in the Northern District of California ruled that the funds would be distributed to all ICO investors who filed claims before October 16. While the settlement marked a victory for the investors, the key legal firms that fought for them can’t agree on who should take the higher fees.

As reported by Law360, lawyers from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Block & Leviton LLP (B&L) have moved to court seeking to stop a motion for counsel fees filed by rival law firms.

The rivals—LTL Attorneys LLP, Hung G. Ta Esq. PPLC (HGT), Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC and the Restis Law Firm P.C—filed a motion to compel B&L to return the funds it had distributed to itself and some of the firms it’s allied to. They accused B&L of brazen misconduct for its actions, claiming it had allocated 25% of the funds to itself and 50% to Robbins Geller, yet another law firm that was involved in the case.

However, B&L and its allies have fought back, according to the report. The firms have asked Judge Richard Seeborg to deny the motion, accusing their rivals of being committed to “unseemly mudslinging, inaccurate accusations of deceit, and unfounded claims of violations of the rules of professional conduct.”

They also claimed that their rivals have been aware of the fee distribution model since December 2019 and had not opposed it until a month ago.

Block & Leviton has been involved in digital currency-related litigation for years now. In February 2018, the company launched a class action lawsuit against Riot Blockchain for allegedly violating federal securities laws. It also announced in February 2020 that it was investigating mining equipment manufacturer Canaan Inc. earlier this year for a similar violation.

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