HESS v. VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC., 2014 OK 111

Hess filed a nationwide class action against Volkswagen for front spoiler design defects in 2005; class certification was upheld in 2009.
Settlement in 2011-2012 provided for insurers’ fees and costs, with over two million owners notified nationwide; Oklahoma residents received nothing.
Hess sought approximately $15 million in fees; the trial court awarded $3,610,719.15 plus expenses, after a 5% downward adjustment for Florida litigation.
Missouri Supreme Court Berry v. Volkswagen Group of America (2013) allowed a 2.0 multiplier to lodestar in a similar VW case; Hess cited Berry in reconsideration.
Hess’s Florida v. Sugarman litigation related to certification was unsuccessful; hours from that case were included in Hess’s lodestar.
On reconsideration, the trial court applied a 1.9 multiplier to the lodestar, producing an adjusted award over $7.2 million, which Volkswagen challenged.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the fee award was abused by including Florida hours	Hess argues Florida hours aided settlement and should be included.	Volkswagen contends Florida hours were inappropriate to lodestar.	Yes, including Florida hours was an abuse of discretion.
Whether applying a 1.9 multiplier was proper	Hess relies on Berry’s multiplier rationale.	Volkswagen asserts Berry is non-binding and misapplied here.	No, the 1.9 multiplier was an abuse of discretion.
Whether Missouri Berry’s framework should control Oklahoma fees	Hess invokes Berry as persuasive authority on multipliers.	Volkswagen argues Berry is non-binding and misapplied.	Berry not controlling; misapplied factors in this case.
Whether the fee should relate reasonably to the class recovery	Fees should reflect recovery proportion and risk.	High fees are justified by complex, multi-jurisdictional actions.	The award exceeded a reasonable relationship to the recovery; abuse of discretion.

Berry v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., 397 S.W.3d 425 (Mo. 2013) (upheld multiplier but limited factors in class actions)
Volkswagen of America, Inc. v. Sugarman, 909 So.2d 923 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2005) (certification issues—Florida standards contrasted with Oklahoma)
In re Volkswagen & Audi Warranty Extension Litigation, 692 F.3d 4 (1st Cir. 2012) (multiplier guidance in federal context for VW settlements)
Burk v. City of Oklahoma City, 598 P.2d 659 (Okla. 1979) (lodestar baseline in Oklahoma attorney-fee awards)
Oliver's Sports Ctr., Inc. v. Nat'l Standard Ins. Co., 615 P.2d 291 (Okla. 1980) (agency factors aligned with fee-valuation decisions)