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employees; and relief was requested in the form of, among other
things, punitive damages and attorney's fees.
At the time the classes closed in Glass and Stephens, a
total of 32 class plaintiffs had joined in the lawsuits.
ADEA class actions generally constitute opt-in class
actions and, after closure of the class, only plaintiffs who have
already elected to do so may be part of the class. The Glass and
Stephens actions both constituted opt-in class actions of which
petitioner was an opt-in member.
The class plaintiffs in the Glass and Stephens actions,
including petitioner, entered into contingency fee agreements
with Winthrop and Weinstine under which it was provided that the
class plaintiffs would be obligated to reimburse Winthrop and
Weinstine for out-of-pocket expenses and to pay Winthrop and
Weinstine attorney's fees on a contingency fee basis. The
agreements provided that out-of-pocket expenses incurred during
pendency of the actions would be billed by Winthrop and Weinstine
to the class plaintiffs on a monthly basis and fees due Winthrop
and Weinstine under the contingency fee agreements would be
billed at the conclusion of the actions.
Under the specific contingency fee agreement that petitioner
herein entered into on September 18, 1989, with regard to payment
of attorney's fees, it was provided, among other things, as
follows:
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