We’ve all heard stories of attorneys that charge an arm and a leg (and possibly your first-born) for their services. But N.C. Superior Court Judge Ben Tennille was less than forgiving in his recent criticism of a Sears class action settlement in which attorneys collected almost 400 times the amount that the plaintiffs received. Tennille decried the “shocking incongruity between class benefit and fees” that “leave the appearance of collusion and cannot help but to tarnish the public perception of the legal profession.” He also criticized what he deemed the attorneys’ lack of effort to find more people affected by the suit and attempts to hide the settlement results from him.

Gary Shipman, a Wilmington lawyer who led the suit, countered by arguing that the order was error-ridden, served out of the blue (as the case is two years old), and that Tennille did not have jurisdiction to rule on the case.

The class action suit accused Sears of overcharging patrons – charging each for four-wheel alignments on cars that can only be serviced with a less expensive two wheel alignment. Although the inflation only amounted to a few dollars per customer, it meant millions of dollars in revenues for the retail giant. Tennille claimed in his order that for each plaintiff that received a $10 check or a $4 coupon, their counsel would pocket nearly $3,000.