A disagreement between a federal judge and a Little Rock law firm over attorney fees in a civil lawsuit against a pipe manufacturing company reached a new level this week after an 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the judge's favor sparked an order from the district judge for the law firm to show cause why it should not be held in contempt.
A 2018 class action lawsuit against Welspun Pipes Inc.'s Little Rock facility over unpaid overtime that was settled in favor of the plaintiffs resulted in a denial of $96,000 in fees to the Sanford Law Firm after U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson decided the fees were excessive and reduced the amount to $1. He later raised the amount to $500 after a three-judge panel on the 8th Circuit vacated the award in 2021 and remanded the matter back to him.
The lawsuit was filed in April 2018 on behalf of Anthony Vines and Dominique Lewis, who represented a class of workers at Welspun Pipes Inc., accusing the company of underpaying the workers for overtime hours they worked. The case was settled in 2020 after Welspun agreed to pay $211,666 to be divided among 160 people, and an additional $57,673 to be divided among another 74 people who comprised a second class of employees who opted into the lawsuit after the settlement was reached.
Trouble started after Wilson nixed $96,000 in attorney fees requested by the Sanford Law Firm of Little Rock, which represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. In June 2020, Wilson issued a blistering order...
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