Alabama TikTok settlement sets $14.2 million legal fees, $2 million expenses
Alabama will pay two plaintiffs' law firms more than $14 million as part of its $100 million settlement with TikTok and ByteDance. The state said the deal includes new usage limits and enhanced age-verification measures in Alabama.
By Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) — Alabama will pay two plaintiffs' law firms more than $14 million as part of the state’s landmark $100 million settlement with TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance over allegations that the social media company endangered children and misled consumers about the platform's safety. In its lawsuit, Alabama worked with law firms Beasley Allen and Prince Glover Hayes in pursuing claims that TikTok knowingly exposed its young users to mental health harms. TikTok has denied any wrongdoing. The settlement, announced on Friday just days before a scheduled trial, is TikTok’s first with a state attorney general.
The state said it could receive up to $300 million if certain conditions are met and 40 other state attorneys general sign similar deals with the company in a set timeframe. 2 million in legal fees and $2 million for litigation expenses for the state’s outside lawyers, a court filing shows. It is common for states to pair up with law firms for major lawsuits. Lead attorneys at Beasley Allen and Prince Glover Hayes did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Alabama and TikTok also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit is part of a broader wave of lawsuits by state attorneys general, individuals and school districts alleging that social media platforms have contributed to mental health harms among young people. In the Alabama settlement, TikTok is required to impose new usage limits and enhanced age-verification measures for users in the state, according to court papers. TikTok is represented by a team from US law firm O’Melveny & Myers, including Daniel Petrocelli and Steve Brody.
Petrocelli is chairman of the firm’s trial practice and vice-chair of the firm. Brody is co-chair of the firm’s attorney general investigations and litigation practice. The Los Angeles-founded O'Melveny has long represented TikTok on some court matters. Alabama-founded Beasley Allen, which employs more than 100 lawyers, has teamed up with states in other cases, and has long pursued claims against Johnson & Johnson over its talc-based baby powder.
A judge in March disqualified the firm from representing plaintiffs in that litigation, but the firm said it will appeal. J&J says that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer. 8 billion Blue Cross settlement As lawyer rates surge, US firm charges $4,000 an hour for top partners (Reporting by Mike Scarcella)