Grace v. Apple, Inc., 5:17-cv-00551

This is a class action alleging Apple disabled FaceTime on iOS 6 and earlier by terminating a digital certificate; plaintiffs asserted (among other claims) a novel trespass to chattels theory and required technical analysis of FaceTime source code.
The parties settled for an $18 million non-reversionary common fund; class members receive automatic payments (about $3 per qualifying iPhone initially).
Class Counsel sought 30% of the fund ($5.4M) in attorneys’ fees, $1,090,393.14 in expenses, and $7,500 service awards for each of two class representatives.
The court applied the percentage-of-recovery method with a lodestar cross-check, considering counsel’s skill, risk assumed, result achieved, and lodestar reasonableness.
The court reduced Class Counsel’s reported lodestar for non-working travel, excessive/unnecessary hours (including unsuccessful class-certification work and internal meetings), and specific block-billed entries; adjusted lodestar produced a negative multiplier (0.72) relative to the requested fee.
Final awards: attorneys’ fees of $5.04M (28% of the fund), expenses of $1,083,045.14 (excluding $7,348 of unreasonable hotel charges), and $7,500 service awards to each class representative.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Appropriate percentage fee	Request 30% of $18M (claims risks and lodestar support uplift)	25% benchmark or less; contest reasonableness of hours/expenses	Court awards 28% ($5.04M) — moderate uplift from 25% based on skill, risk, result, lodestar cross-check
Lodestar computation & multiplier	Lodestar ~ $8,068,130 supports requested fee (negative multiplier ~0.67)	Lodestar inflated by non-working travel, excessive hours, block-billing	Court deducts $593,749 (travel, unsuccessful class-cert hours, 10% haircut for case-management, and strikes block-billed 102.2 hrs); adjusted lodestar $7,474,381 (multiplier 0.72) — supports 28% award
Expense reimbursement	Seek ~$1.09M (mostly experts, database, reporters, mediation, travel); excluded business/first-class flights	Challenge excessive meal and lodging charges	Court approves $1,083,045.14, disallowing $7,348 for unreasonable hotel stays (40% of identified excess)
Service awards to class reps	$7,500 each justified by discovery, depositions, device imaging/surrender	Argues Supreme Court precedent bars such awards and that reps did little	Court approves $7,500 each; declines to follow Eleventh Circuit decision cited by Apple and relies on Ninth Circuit precedent permitting modest service awards

In re Bluetooth Headset Prods. Liab. Litig., 654 F.3d 935 (9th Cir.) (percentage-of-recovery with lodestar cross-check guidance)
Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp., 290 F.3d 1043 (9th Cir.) (fee award factors and benchmark consideration)
In re Wash. Pub. Power Supply Sys. Sec. Litig., 19 F.3d 1291 (9th Cir.) (fiduciary role in common-fund fee awards)
Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424 (U.S.) (lodestar standard and exclusion of hours not reasonably expended)
Welch v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 480 F.3d 942 (9th Cir.) (court authority to reduce block-billed hours)
Moreno v. City of Sacramento, 534 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir.) (permissible 10% "haircut" for billed hours)
Rodriguez v. W. Publ'g Corp., 563 F.3d 948 (9th Cir.) (justification for class representative service awards)
Vincent v. Hughes Air W., Inc., 557 F.2d 759 (9th Cir.) (reimbursement of reasonable litigation expenses from common fund)