Attorneys for shareholders of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) have requested attorneys’ fees of $110 million in connection with the recent $925.5 million settlement of a lawsuit alleging improper backdating of stock options. The Star Tribune reports that UnitedHealth agreed in July to pay $895 million to settle the suit, and former CEO William McGuire agreed two months later to pay $30 million in the settlement.
The fee request represents about 12 percent of the recovery and is reportedly based on a 2007 agreement with the lead plaintiff (the California Public Employees’ Retirement System) and lawyers from the law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins. The Star Tribune reports that in a Jan. 28 court filing, lawyers argued that “[b]y any measure, the settlement is record-breaking and provides a substantial benefit to the class.”
