ELDON FALLON, District Judge
Co-Lead Counsel for common benefit fee objectors have moved to disqualify members of the Fee Allocation Committee (FAC) from serving as litigation counsel in the litigation regarding allocation of common benefit funds. (Rec. Doc. 62803). The motion is without merit and is DENIED.
A court may "appoint a committee of plaintiffs' counsel to recommend how to divide up an aggregate fee award." In re High Sulfur Content Gasoline Prods. Liab. Litig., 517 F.3d 220, 227 (5th Cir. 2008). This is not a radical or controversial method. The Court appointed the FAC to gather input from the attorneys who performed common benefit work and to present a recommended allocation from the FAC's perspective based on its experience with the litigation. The Court remains the sole and final authority regarding how the common benefit fund will be distributed, based on all the materials presented to it by the FAC, by objectors, by the Special Master, and through consultation with the state court judges who also oversaw Vioxx litigation. No member of the FAC is an adjudicator, arbitrator, mediator, or third-party neutral as contemplated by any rules of professional conduct. Furthermore, no member of the FAC represents any non-objectors in any attorney-client relationship. The FAC's current role in addressing objections to its recommendation is part and parcel with its advisory role, and the Court has not and will not deny any common benefit fee applicants, objectors or otherwise, from a reasonable opportunity in an appropriate manner and at the appropriate time to advocate their positions on their own behalf to the Court. Accordingly, the Objectors' motion is DENIED.
New Orleans, Louisiana, this 29th day of April, 2011.