Attack Allowed on Attorneys’ Fees for Merger Disclosures (1)

Ted Frank, a frequent class action settlement objector, may pursue the return of attorneys’ fees and sanctions in the largely resolved lawsuits that sought additional disclosures in drugmaker Akorn Inc.'s proxy documents for a merger with Fresenius Kabi AG.

Participation by Frank, an Akorn shareholder, is appropriate “since class counsel and Akorn are looking out for their own interests rather than those of the class,” the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said Monday.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act provides a mechanism for courts to review so-called “mootness fees” when a corporation quickly makes the requested disclosures ...