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How much do attorneys representing Subaru car owners suing the car-maker for allegedly defective glass want? More than a half million dollars.
Attorneys with Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP and Greenstone Law PC, who represented a class of Subaru vehicle owners alleging crack-prone windows in the case of Bhupendra Khona et al. v. Subaru of America Inc., filed a brief with a New Jersey federal court Aug. 12 requesting a $515,000 fee for counsel.
The request, according to the brief, is for the attorneys to receive compensation equal to other attorneys in their region. The attorneys request $850 per senior partner and $225 per paralegal. U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb hesitated in June to approve the fee request after approving settlement of the case.
Bhupendra Khona et al. v. Subaru of America Inc., was filed in California in June 2017 and a settlement reached after January 2019. As part of the settlement, the case was also filed in New Jersey where Subaru of America Inc. is headquartered.
More than 100 Subaru vehicle owners alleged in the lawsuit Subaru dealers denied warranty claims although the automaker knew the windshields in its vehicles had a defect. Subaru did not issue a recall of the windshields despite the fact a defect was found in pre-production testing. The windshield defect was also evident through dealership repair orders, warranty data and complaints from customers.
Bumb approved extended warranties from five years and unlimited mileage to eight years and unlimited mileage, and a reimbursement program for the owners of the Subarus with crackprone windshields. The reimbursement program is for members of the class action suit who paid for replacement windshields out-of-pocket.
In the Aug. 12 brief, the attorneys said they worked 1,219 hours in three and a half years on the case, which amounts to $381 per hour per attorney or paralegal if the attorneys were compensated in accordance with the lodestar method. The attorneys had agreed to a capped fee of $515,000.
The firms worked on the case based upon a prior market action; however, in the brief the firms said “it took skill and tenacity to vet the appropriateness of that action and meaningfully further extend the duration of the relief from five years to eight years.”
(C) 2021 by glassbytes.com. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. For more information contact www.glassbytes.com.
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the consequences this may have for road safety.”
As part of the study, TÜV Rheinland drove a vehicle with simulated damages on the windshield or incorrect calibration of the cameras on a test track. Components were artificially aged. In one scenario, there were also changes made to the chassis.
Researchers observed the function of the lane-keeping assistance system deteriorated when, for example, there were simulated stone impacts in the windshield. In rare cases, the system switched off without warning. The vehicle also drove over lane markings without warning or reaction from the system.
Schubert believes too little is known about how accidents, improper repairs or wear and tear affect the functionality of assistance systems and thus road safety in the long term. The study found failures could lead to as many as 2.3 million risk events each year in Europe alone.
