TCPA Attorney Fees: How They Are Paid Out of a Settlement

The fee is a percentage, and it is written down first

A contingency fee agreement is a contract. Before an attorney does substantive work on your TCPA claim, you sign a document that states the percentage the attorney will take from any recovery, what counts as a recovery, and how costs are handled. Bar rules in every state require this to be in writing for contingency matters.

Read it before signing and ask about anything unclear. A firm that handles these cases regularly will walk you through it in plain language.

Costs are not fees

The two words get used interchangeably, but they are different money.

• Fees are the attorney’s compensation for the work. In a contingency case, that is the percentage.
• Costs are the out-of-pocket expenses of running the case: the court filing fee, the cost of serving the defendant, subpoena and records fees, deposition transcripts, and, in a contested case, expert witnesses who analyze dialer systems.

In consumer TCPA cases the firm typically advances costs, meaning it pays them as the case goes and is reimbursed from the recovery at the end. The fee agreement states whether costs are reimbursed before or after the percentage is calculated, which changes the math slightly. Ask which order your agreement uses.

How the payout is divided on an individual claim

When an individual TCPA case settles, the payment goes into the attorney’s trust account, not directly to you. From there the disbursement follows the agreement:

1. The settlement amount arrives in trust.
2. Advanced costs are reimbursed to the firm (before or after the fee, per the agreement).
3. The attorney’s percentage is calculated and paid to the firm.
4. The balance is paid to you, with a written settlement statement showing each line.

The settlement statement is yours to keep. It should reconcile to the dollar. Because the TCPA fixes damages at $500 to $1,500 per call and the calls stack, the gross number in a persistent-campaign case can be large enough that the balance after the fee is meaningful money. Every case is different, and no result is promised.

Fee-shifting in class settlements: who pays the lawyers

A class action changes the mechanics. There is no individual fee agreement with each class member. Instead, class counsel asks the court to award a fee out of the settlement, using one of two approaches:

• Percentage of the common fund. Counsel requests a share of the total settlement. Courts in TCPA class cases commonly scrutinize requests and adjust them based on the size of the fund and the result.
• Lodestar. Counsel documents hours worked and hourly rates, and the court checks that figure against the percentage as a cross-check, sometimes applying a multiplier.

Either way, class members do not write a check. The fee comes off the top of the fund before shares are calculated, which is why the per-member amount is smaller than the headline total divided by the class size. In Lucas v. Synchrony Bank (No. 4:21-cv-00070, N.D. Ind.), a $2.6 million fund was created for the class; fees, costs, and administration were paid from it before members were paid. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

How the court approves the fee in a class case

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(h) requires class counsel to file a motion for fees, give notice to the class, and let members object. The judge then decides whether the request is reasonable. Objections are rare but real, and courts do cut requested fees. This review exists because class members never negotiated the fee themselves. It is the safeguard that stands in for the written agreement an individual client signs.

If you receive a class notice, it will state the fee counsel intends to request. That number is a request, not a final figure, until the court rules at the final approval hearing.

When the fee comes out, and when you see your share

On an individual case, the fee is deducted when the settlement is funded, and your share follows in the same disbursement. On a class case, nothing is deducted or paid until final approval, the appeal window closes, and the administrator distributes. If your question is about timing rather than mechanics, how long until a robocall settlement pays walks through those stages.

Max Morgan, Esq. (PA Bar #316096, The Weitz Firm, LLC) handles TCPA claims nationwide on contingency: no fee unless you recover, and the percentage in writing before the case starts.

Related: What a robocall lawyer costs up front · How class action payouts are divided · How long until a settlement pays · Free TCPA case review