Class-action plaintiffs represented by Santa Ana-based law firm Callahan & Blaine will get more than $230,000 in reimbursement for attorneys’ fees and costs from a case against Freedom Communications Inc.
The case involved the prior owners of the media company, which counted the Orange County Register among its various properties.
Freedom was sold to Boston-based 2100 Trust LLC in July.
The reimbursement order by Delaware’s bankruptcy court addressed the “final issue” of Freedom’s bankruptcy proceedings, which will be closed in coming weeks, according to a statement by Callahan & Blaine.
The class-action plaintiffs—some 3,000 newspaper carriers who have worked for the Register—made up the majority of Freedom’s unsecured creditor constituency.
They were represented by Dan Callahan, founding partner of Callahan & Blaine.
The suit ended with two separate settlements that summed up to about $30 million, enough for each driver to receive about $5,000 apiece.
The class had requested payment of “reasonable compensation and expenses,” asking for $222,986 in compensation and $7,333.34 in expenses.
Judge Brendan Shannon granted the request, saying the class plaintiffs “have made a substantial contribution to the bankruptcy proceeding … and conferred a benefit to all similarly situated creditors.”
