Group questions attorney fees for Eli Lilly settlement

Group questions attorney fees for Eli Lilly settlement


Nearly one-third of $22.5 million payout went to private lawyers

http://www.dailymail.com/Business/200908270921


by Michelle Saxton

Daily Mail Capitol Reporter

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Private attorneys fees make up about a third of $22.5 million in total payments drug manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. agreed to pay in a recent settlement with the West Virginia Attorney General's Office.



A state watchdog group has criticized the agency for a "lack of accountability" on how those fees are split and what services they cover.



The attorney general's office argues the focal point of the settlement should be the $14.75 million the state was awarded to help fund behavioral health services. Another $1 million will help with consumer protection services in the state.



Settlement information was released last week regarding a complaint Attorney General Darrell McGraw's office filed against Eli Lilly over how the company marketed the drug Zyprexa.



"While this case may be settled, important questions remain about the $6.75 million reward to the private lawyers Attorney General McGraw appointed to pursue the lawsuit," said Richie Heath, executive director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.



"McGraw's lawyers have yet to disclose any accounting of the amount of work they performed in this case. Nor do we know how the fees are to be split among the firms. As such, West Virginians are once again left guessing about the work state appointed lawyers performed on their behalf. This lack of accountability is unacceptable."



West Virginia Chief Deputy Attorney General Fran Hughes accused Heath's group of attacking the office and trying to stop it from enforcing the law and protecting consumers.



"They want us to always have to justify decisions we've made," Hughes said. "The results speak for themselves."



Hughes said attorneys fees were approved by the court based on work and contribution and were to be split among three lawyers: Troy Giatras and Jeaneen Legato of Charleston and H. Blair Hahn of Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC in South Carolina.



The percentage in attorneys' fees is lower than what most attorneys make and lower than many other lawsuits the office has settled, Hughes said.



"If people want to complain about attorneys making money when we have $15 million dollars to the state that we didn't have before then they'll have to criticize us," Hughes said.



Alaska won a $15 million settlement with Eli Lilly in 2008 over Zyprexa, and about $3 million of that was for attorneys' fees, according to Bill McAllister, spokesman for the attorney general's office in Alaska.



Hahn, whose firm represented Alaska in its case and who was lead counsel in West Virginia's case, was to receive probably about half the $6.75 million from the recent settlement, Hughes said.



"The man has never donated money to the attorney general's office," she added.



Hughes referred further questions about the settlement split to the private attorneys. Giatras, who was listed on the Secretary of State's Web site as contributing about $475 to McGraw's 2008 campaign, could not be reached for comment