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Counsel Concerns

By Scott Flaherty
February 28, 2015

When Weil, Gotshal & Manges litigators get tapped for an antitrust class action, it's usually assumed the firm is playing defense. But a bit of role-reversal paid off for Weil Gotshal in February, when a judge awarded the firm $16.1 million in class counsel fees and expenses, and signed off on a $58.5 million settlement payment it negotiated from the music performance-rights organization SESAC.

Federal District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan granted final approval to the settlement, which resolved claims that Weil Gotshal brought on behalf of a group of network television affiliates. Meredith Corp. v. SESAC LLC, 09 Civ. 9177. The deal capped more than five years of litigation over claims that SESAC violated federal antitrust law through its practice of issuing blanket, all-or-nothing copyright licenses to local stations. The $16.1 million that Judge Engelmayer awarded Weil Gotshal amounted to about 27% of the entire settlement amount.

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