In re Joint Eastern S. Dist. Asbestos Litig

Full title: In re JOINT EASTERN AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS ASBESTOS LITIGATION BERNADINE…

Court: United States District Court, E.D. New York, and S.D. New York

Date published: Oct 30, 2007

NYAL Index No. 4000, C.A. No. 90-3973 (E.D.N.Y), C.A. No. 90-7158 (S.D.N.Y) (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 30, 2007)

Opinion

NYAL Index No. 4000, C.A. No. 90-3973 (E.D.N.Y), C.A. No. 90-7158 (S.D.N.Y).

October 30, 2007

Francis J. Lawall, Charles H. Carpenter, PEPPER HAMILTON LLP, Philadelphia, PA, Attorneys for Manville Distributor Subclass.

ORDER

JACK WEINSTEIN, Senior District Judge

Upon consideration of the Manville Distributor Subclass Application for Payment of Attorneys' Fees (the "Application"), the supporting affidavit, the October 12, 2007 letter from David T. Austern, and the record of this case, it is, by the Court, this ___ day of __________, 2007,

ORDERED that the Application shall be, and hereby is, GRANTED; and it is

FURTHER ORDERED that the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust shall remit to Pepper Hamilton LLP the sum of $1,083.50.

MANVILLE DISTRIBUTOR SUBCLASS APPLICATION FOR PAYMENT OF ATTORNEYS' FEES

Comes now the Manville Distributor Subclass, by and through undersigned counsel, and applies to the Court for payment of attorneys fees incurred in connection with the captioned matter, by its counsel Pepper Hamilton LLP through September 30, 2007, and in support thereof submits herewith an October 12, 2007 letter from David T. Austern of the Manville Trust and the Affidavit of Charles H. Carpenter.

JACK WEINSTEIN, Senior District Judge

AFFIDAVIT

CITY OF WASHINGTON ) ) SS DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ) Charles H. Carpenter, being duly sworn, states and deposes as follows:

1. I am an attorney with the firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP, formerly known as Pepper, Hamilton Scheetz. On September 28, 1993, this firm was appointed to serve as co-counsel to the Subclass of Manville Asbestos Distributors (the "Manville Distributors").

2. I submit this Affidavit in support of the Manville Distributor Subclass Application for Payment of Attorneys' Fees (the "Application") made pursuant to the Order of the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein, entered in open court on July 8, 1994 (the "Order"). The Order provides that reasonable attorneys' fees for subclass counsel shall be paid by the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust.

3. Attached to this Affidavit as Exhibit "A" is a summary of time report (the "Time Report") detailing time spent and expenses incurred by Pepper Hamilton LLP in the representation of the Manville Distributors.

4. The Time Report has been redacted to eliminate the disclosure of attorney client privilege and other work product of this firm undertaken in connection with the representation of the Manville Distributors. Otherwise, the Time Report is a true and correct copy of the entries by the individual professionals as set forth on their timesheets.

5. In the time period covered by the Application, Pepper Hamilton LLP continued its activities as subclass counsel.

6. The Time Report attached as Exhibit A shows that for the period through September 30, 2007, Pepper Hamilton lawyers and professional staff worked a total of 2.10 hours in this time period, which at our standard billing rates, translates to $1,083.50 in fees. In addition, the Time Report shows no expenses are due, so the sum total is $1,083.50.

7. A biographical summary of the Pepper Hamilton LLP partners who have primarily worked on this engagement has been previously submitted.

8. Based on the foregoing, Pepper Hamilton LLP requests compensation in accordance with the Order from the Trust for those fees incurred for the period covered by this Affidavit.23^th

________________________________ Dated: October 23, 2007 Charles H. Carpenter Subscribed and sworn before me this day of October, 2007 _______________________________ Notary Public My commission expires: Cherrell Y. Hinnant Notary Public, District of Columbia My Commission expires 5/14/2011

Exhibit A

Pepper Hamilton LLP Attorneys at Law ___________ 3000 Two Logan Square Eighteenth and Arch Streets Philadelphia, PA 19103-2799 215.981.4000 Invoice Number: 10443282 Client/Matter Number: 107197.00002 October 11, 2007 Subclass of Johns-Manville Asbestos Manville Personal Injury Settlement Suite 600 — Willow Oaks Corp. Drive Fairfax, Virginia 22031 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Requesting Attorney: Francis J. Lawall Federal Identification No. 23-1433012 FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RENDERED through September 30, 2007 as follows

RE: Joint Eastern Southern District Asbes. $1,083.50

Name Services Time 5/2/07 F. Lawall Review latest financial filings from court. 0.30 6/4/07 F. Lawall E-mail re arbitration issue. 0.20 6/12/07 F. Lawall Review correspondence from trust. 0.20 7/27/07 C. Carpenter Review new proposals on direct action. 0.40 7/27/07 F. Lawall E-mail re Direct Fund. 0.20 7/31/07 F. Lawall Review materials re limited fund distribution. 0.40 8/3/07 F. Lawall Review financial statements. 0.20 9/25/07 F. Lawall Review financials from court. 0.20 TOTAL CHARGEABLE HOURS ............................................................... 2.10 TOTAL FEES ...................................................................... $1,083.50 TOTAL AMOUNT DUE ................................................................ The following is a summary of the time dedicated and the fees charged to this matter by the Firm's professional staff: General Counsel Re: Findley v. Falise , 90 CV 3973 (JBW) HOURS RATE FEE C. Carpenter Partner 0.40 435.00 174.00 F. Lawall Partner 1.70 535.00 909.50 _______ ___________ Total 2.10 $1,083.50 MANVILLE PERSONAL INJU RY SETTLEMENT TRUST David T. Austern October 12, 2007 Hon. Jack B. Weinstein United States District Court Eastern District of New York 225 Cadman Plaza East Brooklyn, NY 11201 Dear Judge Weinstein:

This letter concerns the statement for fees in the amount of $1,083.50 which is being submitted by Pepper Hamilton LLP, counsel for the Manville Distributor Subclass, incurred through September 30, 2007.

I have reviewed the statement for fees and expenses. Based on my position with the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust ("the Trust"), I am familiar with the work performed as reflected in the statement. Please be informed that the Trust has no objection to the award of $1,083.50 to Pepper Hamilton LLP for fees and expenses as described in the statement.

Very truly yours, David T. Austern General Counsel cc: Francis J. Lawall, Esq. Charles H. Carpenter, Esq. Leslie Gordon Fagen, Esq. Elihu Inselbuch, Esq. 3110 Fairview Park Drive Suite 200 P.O. Box 12003 Falls Church, Virginia 22042-0683 Phone: 703-204-9300 Fax: 703-205-6249