WHEELING - Ohio County Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson on Monday decided four attorneys will share $3.9 million for their work on an antitrust lawsuit brought against Visa and MasterCard.
Two West Virginia attorneys - Teresa Toriseva of Wheeling and Guy R. Bucci of Charleston - will share the legal fees with attorneys George W. Sampson of Seattle and Jonathan W. Cuneo of Washington, D.C. All four were hired as special assistant attorneys general by West Virginia Attorney General Darrel McGraw.
Wilson's ruling came as a final measure of an $11.6 million settlement against Visa USA Inc. and MasterCard International Corp. The lawsuit claimed the credit card companies price-fixed fees, forced merchants to accept debit as well as credit cards for payment and committed other deceptive practices.
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Speaking to Ohio County Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson on Aug. 20 is Wheeling lawyer Teresa Toriseva, one of four attorneys who will share $3.9 million in fees associated with an antitrust and consumer protection action against Visa and MasterCard.
At an Aug. 20 hearing, Wilson said he would issue an order within 30 days that would determine how the lawyers would split $3.9 million in legal fees. He later said he would need more time to prepare an opinion because the case was more complex than he had imagined.
In Monday's ruling, Wilson said the law firm of Hagens, Berman, Sobol, Shapiro LLP will allocate the fees to the attorneys. The order did not include dollar amounts to the individual attorneys nor did it include an amount that Hagens, Berman, Sobol, Shapiro LLP would be paid for its work.
The original settlement spelled out that Visa was to pay up to $3 million toward the lawyer fees, while MasterCard was to pay up to $900,000 in fees. Wilson's ruling reflected the maximum amount allowed by the agreement.
Wilson also ruled the attorneys "took great risk in the prosecution of this case, devoting a substantial amount of time and expense without any guarantee of compensation and that this case presented highly complex questions of law and fact, requiring attorneys with extensive skill and experience in complex litigation.
"The court further finds that the results obtained are excellent, in that the counsel have obtained substantial recovery for a large number of West Virginians despite vigorous defenses raised by the defendants," he ruled. "Plaintiffs have submitted evidence of costs incurred in prosecuting this litigation in the amount of $231,561.30. The court finds these expenditures were reasonable and necessary and should be reimbursed from the $3.9 million attorney fee pledged for court consideration in this matter."
Also coming out of the $3.9 million will be $143,185.79 to attorney Barry Hill as payment for his work and expenses during the litigation.
Wilson's order states payment shall be made to the attorneys within 15 days.
Throughout the lawsuit period, Steve Cohen, executive director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, has repeatedly questioned why McGraw hires outside attorneys to try cases - particularly attorneys who have donated to his political campaigns - rather than use the legal staff in his office to handle litigation.
Cohen also wanted the assistant attorneys general to submit itemized documentation of all work performed and all expenses incurred.
Wilson's order states, "All attorneys are not equal. Not every attorney in West Virginia was qualified to be appointed to represent the attorney general in this lawsuit."
Wilson also pointed out that Cohen had an career that many would envy but added, "Mr. Cohen is not a lawyer. Although he may have a few good ideas, he could not offer helpful legal arguments. He apparently does not understand that judges are not omnipotent and that they exercise judgment but not will and cannot just do what they want to do when faced with legal issues. Most of his recommendations had to be rejected outright and, to the extent that I had the authority to act upon some, I ultimately found his requests to be without merit.
"In truth, and probably because he is employed by an organization that seems entirely too partisan with addressing any issue involving plaintiffs' lawyers, his bias towards the attorney general is so visible that it clouds his effort to deploy persuasive reasoning," Wilson continued. "It's too bad Mr. Cohen's organization is so mean-spirited in its criticism of our legal system and its lawyers and judges, because it renders the nature of those claims more like an antagonistic ideology rather than a rational and substantive critique."
In response to Wilson's ruling, Cohen said, "We commend Judge Wilson for raising the yellow flag when Darrell McGraw's campaign contributors had their hand out for millions of dollars in public funds. Ultimately, though, the system remains broken when there is no accountability for the work performed. The attorney general's seemingly pay-to-play deals cry out for reform."