Judge Says Attorneys Fee Request Unreasonable in TaxAct Suit

A federal judge trimmed attorneys’ cut from a settlement in a case against online tax preparation company TaxAct Inc. after finding their request unreasonable.

TaxAct had settled claims in February it violated privacy and tax laws by distributing confidential financial data to Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google, and other third parties without taxpayers’ consent. But counsel’s request for 25% of the $17,450,000 settlement fund was “not reasonable” and Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California instead granted them $3,873,000—about 22% of the settlement fund and $500,000 less than they’d asked for—in ...