Opinion Approving Settlement - Public Interest Law Center of ...

Case 2:94-cv-04048-ER Document 330 Filed 09/19/2005 Page 37 of 513. Do the administrative costs, includingattorneys fees, reflect the market valueof the services performed and are theycommensurate with the results achieved?Under the Settlement Agreement, Plaintiffs’ counselwill receive $1,825,000 for attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.“In determining the appropriate amount of attorneys’ fees to bepaid to class counsel, the principal consideration is the successachieved by the plaintiffs under the terms of the settlement.”Schwartz, 157 F. Supp. 2d at 578; see also Prudential, 148 F.3dat 338 (“‘[N]umerous courts have concluded that the amount of thebenefit conferred logically is the appropriate benchmark againstwhich a reasonable . . . fee charge should be assessed.’”)(quoting Conte, 1 Attorney Fee Awards § 2.05, at 37).After litigating for over eleven years, Plaintiffsrepresent that the Settlement Agreement provides them “with aremedy that addresses virtually every form of relief that wasrequested in the Complaint.” (Joint Mot. for Final Approval ofSettlement Agreement at 56.) In their complaint, Plaintiffsrequested that PDE: (1) provide comprehensive development andtraining to regular and special education personnel concerningprovisions for supplementary aids and services to students withdisabilities in regular classrooms; (2) monitor local schooldistricts to determine whether they are improperly removing classmembers from regular education classrooms and whether the localschool districts are providing specialized instruction and37