Cobell Lawsuit & Settlement

Dorgan calls Cobell attorney fee request for $223M 'shameful'

Friday, February 25, 2011

Retired Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) is "angry" over the $223 million that the attorneys for the Indian trust fund lawsuit are seeking from a federal judge.

Dorgan, the former chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, pushed the settlement through the 111th Congress. He hopes the judge rejects the request.

“For the attorneys to argue for this amount of money now undermines the very interest of the victims they were representing,” Dorgan told The Blog of Legal Times. “It just makes me angry. There were real victims hurt in this case. This should not be, in the end, how much the lawyers get.”

Attorney fees were an issue as the settlement moved through Congress. The deal caps fees at $100 million but anticipates a potentially higher award because the final decision will be made by the judge.

Get the Story:
Former Sen. Dorgan: $223M Legal Fee Request is 'Shameful' (The Blog of Legal Times 2/24)
Cobell's Lawyers Seek to Double Their Fee (The Daily Yonder 2/24)
Lawyers want $223 million in Cobell case (The Billings Gazette 2/25)
Montana, Wyoming Indians notified in Cobell settlement (The Billings Gazette 2/25)
Indians pose questions, listen to lawyers at trust fund settlement meeting in Mission (The Mitchell Daily Republic 2/24)
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