The lawsuit alleged that the advertising associated with Synthroid inaccurately suggested the superiority of Synthroid over other products used to treat certain thyroid disorders, thereby deterring consumers from purchasing less expensive alternatives to Synthroid. Under the proposed settlement agreement, the company will pay approximately $87 million into the settlement fund for the benefit of the class members. However, the attorneys sought 29 percent of that amount, or approximately $26 million in fees, although the average class member will receive less than $100. Because this is a common fund case, every dollar allocated to attorneys’ fees is one dollar less for the class members.In September 2001, the appeals court reversed the lower court decision that capped the attorneys’ fees award and remanded the case to the lower court for reconsideration of the fee award.
