Case Explained: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT WILLIAM R. KLOPFENSTEIN; LORI LASKARIS; DANIEL LASKARIS; BRIAN C. HARRISON; JANET FYOCK; ADAM McKINNEY; DONALD E. ADANICH v. FIFTH THIRD BANK ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Filed: 2026-06-04

The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s award of approximately $3.3 million in attorney’s fees to the class of borrowers who prevailed on their Truth in Lending Act (TILA) claim against Fifth Third Bank, while vacating and remanding the portion of the fee award related to hourly rates for counsel other than lead firm Tycko & Zavareei. The court applied the *Hensley v. Eckerhart* lodestar method, reviewing the district court’s fee determination for an abuse of discretion. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding the unsuccessful breach of contract claim “related” to the successful TILA claim because both claims arose from a common core of facts regarding APR disclosures, allowing fees for overlapping work. The court further affirmed the district court’s decision not to reduce the award for the class’s “limited success,” noting that recovering the maximum statutory damages available under TILA constituted excellent success, and the 15% reduction already applied for potential overstaffing was sufficient. Additionally, the court found it reasonable to apply Washington, D.C. Laffey rates to Tycko & Zavareei due to the case’s complexity and the firm’s specialized expertise in national class actions. However, the court ruled that the district court abused its discretion by applying Laffey rates to all other class counsel rather than the local “Rubin” rates for the Southern District of Ohio. The appellate court determined that the district court failed to provide a specific showing of necessity justifying a departure from the forum’s prevailing market rates for non-local counsel who were not specialists in the same manner as Tycko. Consequently, the case is remanded to the district court to recalculate the fee award using the appropriate local forum rates for all counsel except Tycko & Zavareei.

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