Case 2:09-cv RSL Document 176 Filed 02/04/14 Page 1 of 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE

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1 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of The Hon. Robert S. Lasnik 0 KAREN TAVENNER, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, vs. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE Plaintiff, THE TALON GROUP, A DIVISION OF FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. Guy W. Beckett declares: NO. C0-0 RSL DECLARATION OF GUY W. BECKETT IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION. I am co-counsel for Ms. Tavenner and the Classes. I submit this declaration in support of Class Counsel s Fee Petition. I make this declaration from my personal knowledge.. I graduated summa cum laude from Washington State University in, where I was invited to, and became, a member of Phi Beta Kappa. I graduated in from the University of Virginia School of Law, where I was a founding editor of The Journal of Law and Politics. I have been licensed to practice law in Washington since. From to I practiced at a general practice firm in Bremerton, first as an associate (Hall & Kintner, P.S.), then as a shareholder (Hall, Kintner & Beckett, P.S.). From to 0 I practiced as an associate with Weinsten & Hacker, P.S./Weintein, Hacker, Yost Berry & Matthews, P.S. From IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -

2 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of 0 0 to 0, I practiced as a solo litigation attorney. Since 0, I have been a partner in Berry & Beckett, PLLP.. I am rated AV by Martindale Hubbell. The majority of my practice is devoted to consumer class action work, and I also have a contingency practice devoted to the litigation of business and real estate-related disputes and personal injury cases. I am an Eagle member of the Washington State Association of Justice. In my career I have tried and prevailed in numerous lawsuits in superior courts in several counties in Washington, including King, Pierce, Kitsap, Mason, Spokane, Skagit, and Okanogan. I have also tried and prevailed in several cases in several federal courts, including the Bankruptcy Courts for the Western District of Washington in Seattle and Tacoma; and the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington. I have been counsel or co-counsel for prevailing parties in numerous appeals, including: a. Peterson v. Kitsap Community Federal Credit Union, Wn. App. 0, P.d () (affirming trial court s denial of defendant s motion to dismiss based on federal preemption, but remanding for trial on other issue). b. Lawless Const. Corp. v. Tuyen Dinh Nguyen, Wn. App. 00, WL (Wash. App. Div. ) (unpublished) (trial counsel for homeowners defense of lien foreclosure and damages action; appeal court affirmed trial counsel s dismissal of contractor s action at conclusion of its case). c. McCurry v. Chevy Chase, N.A., Wn.d, P.d (0) (reversing trial court s dismissal of class action plaintiff s breach of contract and violation of Washington Consumer Protection Act case). d. Singleton v. Naegeli Reporting Corp., Wn. App., P.d (0) (reversing trial court s dismissal of class action plaintiff s claim for violation of Washington s Consumer Protection Act). e. O Neill v. Farmers Ins. Co., Wn. App., P.d (0) (reversing trial court s dismissal of plaintiff s claim for violation of Washington Consumer Protection Act). f. In re Healy, Fed. Appx. 0, 0 WL (th Cir. 0) (affirming bankruptcy court s determination that plaintiff s $.+ million state court judgment against defendant was nondischargeable). g. In re Diafos, 0 Wn. App., P.d 0 (0), review denied, Wn.d 0 (0) (affirming trial court s entry of judgment against defendant). IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -

3 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of 0 h. Butko v. Stewart Title Company of Washington, Inc., Wn. App., P.d w (0) (reversing trial court s dismissal of developer s damage claims against escrow company). i. Butko v. Madrona, Inc., Ct. of Appeals, Div. Case No. 0-0-II, review denied, Wn.d 0, P.d (0) (affirming trial court judgment against defendants).. I have been counsel or co-counsel for the prevailing parties in the following nonpublished but reported federal trial court decisions and orders: a. Tavenner v. The Talon Group, WL 0 (W.D. Wash. ) (granting motion for class certification for consumer class pursuing damage claims against escrow company). b. Tavenner v. The Talon Group, WL 0 (W.D. Wash. ) (denying motion for summary judgment of consumer class action plaintiff s breach of fiduciary duty claim against escrow company). c. Kazman v. Land Title, WL (W.D. Wash. ) (denying motion to dismiss consumer class action plaintiff s breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, and violations of Washington Consumer Act claims against escrow company). d. Amini v. Bank of America Corp., WL (W.D.Wash. ) (denying motion to dismiss appraisal negligence, RESPA, and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims). e. Amini v. Bank of America Corp., WL (W.D. Wash. ) (granting motion to compel discovery and awarding sanctions against Bank of America, N.A.). f. Lewis v. Chase Home Finance, LLC, WL (W.D. Wash. ) (denying defendant s motion to dismiss class action plaintiff s breach of contract and Consumer Protection Act claims). g. Williams v. Kitsap County, 0 WL 00 (W.D. Wash. 0) (denying motion to dismiss federal civil rights claim against county for police shooting). h. Williams v. Kitsap County, 0 WL (W.D. Wash. 0) (denying motion to dismiss federal civil rights claim against sheriff s deputies for police shooting). i. Gerber v. First Horizon Home Loans Corp., 0 WL 0 (W.D. Wash. 0) (denying motion to dismiss class action plaintiff s claim for violation of Washington s Consumer Protection Act). j. Davis v. Homecomings Financial, 0 WL 0 (W.D. Wash. 0) (denying motion to dismiss class action plaintiff s claims for breach of contract and violations of Washington s Consumer Protection Act). IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -

4 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of 0 k. Davis v. Homecomings Financial, 0 WL 0 (W.D. Wash. 0) (granting class certification for consumer class pursuing claims to recover fees charged at payoff by mortgage loan servicing company). l. Orser v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., 0 WL (W.D. Wash. 0) (denying defendant s motion to dismiss class action plaintiff s breach of contract, Consumer Protection Act, and unjust enrichment claims).. I have been appointed as co-class counsel in thirty-five cases, as follows: a. Claims against lending institutions and/or loan servicers for assessment of improper fees at loan payoff or refinance: i. Roche, et al. v. Washington Mutual Bank, King County Superior Court No SEA (appointed after defendant opposed class certification motions, and for class ii. Meier, et al., v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc., King County Superior No SEA (class iii. Maguire v. GMAC Mortgage Corporation, King County Superior No SEA (appointed after defendant opposed class certification motion, and for class iv. Davis v. American General Finance, Inc., King County Superior No SEA (appointed after defendant opposed class certification motion, and for class v. Groombridge v. World Savings Bank, King County Superior No SEA (class vi. Bina, et al. v. Sterling Savings Bank, King County Superior No SEA (class vii. Campbell v. Boeing Employees Credit Union, King County Superior No SEA (class viii. Gerber v. st Security Bank, King County Superior No SEA (class ix. Kung, et al. v. Washington Federal Savings, King County Superior No SEA (class x. McCune v. Wilshire Credit Corporation, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle, No. :0-cv--RSL (class IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -

5 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of xi. Orser v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle, No. :0-cv-00 RSL (class 0 xii. xiii. Davis v. Homecomings Financial, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle, No. :0-cv- RSL (appointed after defendant opposed class certification motion, and for class Wright v. AMC Mortgage Services, Inc. and Ameriquest Mortgage Company, King County Superior Court No SEA (class xiv. Sando, et al. v. Homestreet Bank, King County Superior Court No SEA (class xv. McCurry v. Chevy Chase Bank, FSB, King County Superior Court No SEA (class xvi. xvii. Fortman v. Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation, King County Superior Court No SEA (class Peterson v. Kitsap Community Federal Credit Union, Kitsap County Superior Court No (appointed after defendant opposed class certification motion). xviii. Culp v. American General Financial Services, King County Superior Court No SEA (class xix. xx. xxi. xxii. Mitchell v. Litton Loan Servicing, LP, King County Superior Court No SEA (class Ackerman v. Homecomings Financial, LLC, King County Superior Court No SEA (appointed after defendant opposed class certification motion, and for class Hardie v. Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, LP, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle, No. :0-cv-0 RSL (class Stocker-Strathern v. Greenpoint Mortgage Funding, Inc., King County Superior Court No SEA (class xxiii. Berger v. Provident Funding Associates, LP, King County Superior Court No. --- SEA (class xxiv. Lewis v. Chase Home Finance, LLC, U.S. District Court, Western District IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -

6 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of 0 of Washington at Seattle, No. :-cv-000-jlr (class xxv. Kazman v. PNC Bank, King County Superior Court No. --- SEA (appointed after defendant opposed class certification motion, and for class xxvi. Gardner v. GMAC Mortgage, LLC, King County Superior Court No (preliminary approval of proposed class settlement granted, final approval pending). xxvii. Morgan v. US Bank National Association, King County Superior Court No. --- (class b. Claims against escrow companies for charging improper fees: i. Tavenner v. The Talon Group, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle, No. :0-cv-0 RSL (appointed after defendant opposed class certification motion: see WL 0 (W.D. Wash. )). ii. Hammer v. Columbia Title Agency, LLC, Clark County Superior Court No (class iii. Radonovich v. Amerititle, Inc., Kittitas County Superior Court No (class iv. Neff, et al., v. Old Republic Title, Ltd., U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle, No. C- RSL (preliminary approval of proposed class settlement granted, final approval pending). c. Singleton v. Naegeli Reporting Corporation, Kitsap County Superior Court No (claims for overcharging by court reporters; appointed as co-class counsel for class d. Wilson v. Stewart Title of Seattle, LLC, King County Superior Court No SEA (claims for overcharging by title companies for title insurance guaranties; appointed as co-class counsel for class e. Blum v. CTX Mortgage Company, LLC, King County Superior Court No SEA (claims against mortgage brokers for improperly charging and collecting yield spread premiums; appointed as co-class counsel for class f. Global Education Services, Inc. v. LiveDeal, Inc., King County Superior Court No SEA (claim for recovery of improper telephone service billings resulting from deposit of activiation checks received in mail by class members; appointed co-class counsel for class IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -

7 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of 0. I have authored or co-authored the following articles: a. Federal Preemption: A change in the wind?, WSAJ Trial News Vol., No., Page (July/August 0) (co-author). b. Supreme Court Rejects Preemption and Iqbal/Twombly, WSAJ Trial News Vol., No., Page (November 0).. I have been appointed as an arbitrator for King County and Kitsap County Superior Court cases well over thirty times. I have been a speaker at continuing legal education seminars on various topics.. I am requesting the Court, when analyzing any lodestar cross-check for the attorney s fee award requested by co-counsel for the Class, to consider my hourly rate to be $00 per hour. a. Because the vast majority of my cases are contingency fee matters, I rarely must deal with hourly rates or litigate attorney s fee issues. My three most recent fee awards, where the award was disputed, occurred in 0 in Kitsap County Superior Court, Peterson v. Kitsap Community Federal Credit Union, Kitsap County Superior Court No , a certified class action in which I was awarded lodestar fees of $00 per hour; in in an arbitrated portion of Global Education Services, Inc. v. LiveDeal, Inc., King County Superior Court No SEA, where arbitrator Judge Robert Alsdorf (ret.) awarded me lodestar attorney s fees of $ per hour for a dispute about whether a purported class settlement agreement was valid; in, in Lawless Corporation Corp. v. Nguyen, et al., King County Superior Court No KNT, where the trial court disqualified my law partner from trying a construction lien defense case for his homeowner clients just two weeks before trial, forcing me to successfully try the case on very short notice, for which I was awarded lodestar fees for my trial work of $00 per hour; and in in this Court, where I was awarded $ per hour for an IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -

8 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of 0 attorney s fee award in a discovery dispute in Amini v. Bank of America, N.A., et. al., U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, at Seattle, Case No. C-0 RSL. b. In setting a reasonable lodestar hourly rate, the Court may consider recent attorney s fee awards in similar cases. Based on this analysis, I believe the Court should consider my hourly lodestar rate to be $00. The following cases support this result: i. In Pelletz v. Weyerhauser Co., F. Supp.d (W.D. Wash. 0), a class action suit where it was alleged defendant s deck-building products were defective, Judge Coughenour approved hourly rates for Seattle attorneys ranging from $ to $0 per hour. Id. at -. Of those attorneys, John Bright and Mark Griffin were employed by Keller Rohrback, LLP, whose rates were approved ranging from $ to $0. Id. I have been appointed as co-class counsel in several cases identified above in Paragraph (a) with Messrs. Griffin and Bright. ii. In Clark v. Payless Shoesource, Inc., WL 0 (W.D. Wash. ), an ADAD automatic dialing class action, in setting hourly lodestar rates, Judge Coughenour referred to unpublished and unreported decisions in Zwicker v. Gen. Motors Corp., Case No. C0-0 JCC (W.D. Wash. 0) and Carideo v. Dell, Inc., Case No. C0- JLR (W.D. Wash. 0), in which class action attorney hourly lodestar rates were set at $0 and $00 per hour, respectively, for Seattle-based attorneys. The lowest hourly rate approved for the attorneys in Clark was $ per hour. iii. In Dennings v. Clearwire Corp., WL (W.D. Wash. ), in setting the hourly lodestar rate in that class action, Judge Robart referred to an unpublished and unreported decision in In re Wash. Mut., Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. 0- MJP, in which class action attorneys hourly lodestar rates were approved at $ per hour. IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -

9 Case :0-cv-00-RSL Document Filed 0/0/ Page of 0 Based on the awards made in these decisions, I believe that $00 per hour should be approved as my hourly lodestar fee for class action cases, as it is clearly within the range of other attorneys rates with similar practices and experience in the Seattle area.. This case was filed in the King County Superior Court in August 0, then removed by The Talon Group to this Court. Over the course of this case, through January,, I worked 0. hours on the matter. My time sheets are available for inspection in camera if the Court so requests. If the proposed settlement is approved on April 0,, I estimate that I will spend at least another twenty hours after January, to complete the settlement. My office has incurred and advanced $, for expenses on the case, broken down as follows: Mediation fees $,.00 Newspaper notice publication,.0 Photocopies. Postage.0 Fed Ex. Travel/Hotel,0. PACER.0 Accordingly, my actual and estimated lodestar fees and expenses through January, total as follows: Hourly fees to // ($00 x 0.) $,00.00 Expenses,.00 $,.00 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the foregoing is trued and correct. SIGNED THIS th day of February,, at Seattle, Washington. /s/ Guy Beckett Guy W. Beckett, WSBA # Although computerized legal research expenses are reimbursable, my office does not segregate computer legal research time by client; therefore, although I incurred significant expenses for computerized legal research for this case, I am not making a request for reimbursement of those expenses. IN SUPPORT OF AMENDED FEE PETITION - 0 Bellevue Avenue Seattle, WA () - FAX () -