In a legal battle that’s spanned nearly four years and exposed deep fissures in one of America’s largest retirement plans, attorneys representing a former UnitedHealth Group employee have asked a Minnesota federal judge to approve a $23 million attorney fee from the $69 million class action settlement resolving claims that the health insurance giant mismanaged its 401(k) plan.
The request—a full one-third of the total settlement value—comes from lawyers at Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP and Halunen Law, who filed the motion Thursday alongside a final bid for settlement approval.
Class-Wide Silence Signals Support
In a move as smooth as a courtroom chess match, the attorneys noted the deafening silence from the class: out of 350,000 class members, not one objected to the proposed award. Only two letters were submitted, both focused on how the funds should be distributed—not on the attorneys’ share.
“This fee is consistent with what courts have approved in ERISA and common fund cases nationwide,” the lawyers argued in the motion.
