Judge approves nearly $6M of fees and expenses in Greg Lindberg case

A North Carolina judge approved nearly $6 million worth of fees and expense reimbursements last week for lawyers working on the Greg Lindberg court cases.

Judge Max O. Cogburn signed several orders on fees and expenses for the law firm Grier Wright Martinez, serving as special masters, as well as defense attorneys representing Lindberg.

In May 2024, Lindberg was convicted for a second time of attempting to bribe North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. In November of that year, Lindberg pleaded guilty to engineering a $2 billion fraud. His guilty plea on a money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum 10-year sentence, the Department of Justice said.

Lindberg is helping the special master to unwind his financial empire to fulfill his restitution obligations.

Cogburn approved the following requests:

1. Grier law firm was awarded $245,769.50 in fees and $1,103.94 in expenses in connection with the special master application period; Paladin Management awarded $1,094,108.50 in fees and $954.35 expenses in connection with the financial advisor management period.

2. Special Master Joseph Grier and Grier law firm awarded $207,752.00 in fees and $1,156.06 in expenses for the period; Paladin is awarded $572,777.75 in fees and $15,954.87 in expenses for the period.

3. Special Master is directed to pay law firm Wyatt & Blake $157,992.50 for fees and $51.89 for expenses for fees and expenses incurred from Nov. 4, 2024, through July 2025.

4. In a second motion, W&B is reimbursed for attorneys’ fees of $87,205.00, and expenses in the amount of $67.42.

5. The law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman is reimbursed $2,153,156.02 in fees and $897,148.84 for expenses.

6. Katten's second motion netted the firm $487,593.60 in attorney’s fees and $3,470.89 in third-party expenses.

'Difficult and complex'

Katten discounted its normal rate by 15%, court documents say, in case work that also included charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Defendant’s defense, ongoing after more than five years, involved difficult and complex questions requiring significant skill to navigate and address," the Katten request for payment motion said.

The case is very complex, the motion said, involving several insurance company victims with tens of thousands of impacted policyholders; several insurance company victims in liquidation proceedings; several victims who have received, or will receive, compensatory payments from other sources; and some defendant’s assets subject to substantial third-party claims.

In July, Cogburn approved the distribution of $318 million to various victims of Lindberg’s financial fraud after the sale of the Clanwilliam Group of Companies.

Lindberg is expected to be sentenced once the financial accounting of his assets is completed.

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.