The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness filed an objection to a proposed class action settlement involving SiriusXM, arguing that the deal unfairly prioritizes attorneys’ fees over compensation for consumers.
The case—Julie Campbell, et al. v. Sirius XM Radio Inc.—alleges that SiriusXM made telemarketing calls to individuals listed on the National Do Not Call Registry.
The parties reached a proposed settlement valued at approximately $28 million. That’s not acceptable to the Springfield, Ill., based Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, as the Center’s objection highlights an imbalance in how those funds would be distributed.
Under the proposed agreement, class counsel seeks more than $9.6 million in attorneys’ fees—over 36% of the net settlement fund—while the settlement recovers less than $3 per class member. “Class actions are supposed to benefit consumers who’ve been wronged, not enrich attorneys,” said Adam Schulman, senior attorney at the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute. “Here, lawyers are asking for nearly ten million dollars while the people affected by these calls receive pennies on the dollar.”
The objection argues that the requested fees far exceed typical market rates for cases of this size, where courts often award closer to 20%–25% of the recovery. It also raises concerns that class counsel failed to disclose key billing information, limiting the ability of class members to evaluate whether the fee request is justified.
The Center is asking the court to either require greater transparency around attorneys’ billing or reduce the fee award to approximately $5.5 million, which would increase the amount available to class members.
