Oklahoma High Court Tosses $19 Million Class Action Fee Award

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma tossed a $19 million attorneys’ fee award, along with a $400,000 incentive payment to named class representatives, in a case alleging that Continental Resources Inc. underpaid oil and gas royalties due to Oklahoma mineral owners.

Oklahoma’s fee statute provides judges with discretion in calculating fee awards based on percentage of the common fund, the court ruled. It overruled an appeals court ruling requiring use of the lodestar method, which is calculated based on the number of hours reasonably worked at a reasonable hourly rate.

But the district court abused its discretion in approving the “excessive” ...