The questions concern three subjects : (1) the authority of a court sitting in diversity jurisdiction to allocate contractual attorney fees from individual settlements following remand from an MDL; (2) the contours of the equitable common fund doctrine ; and (3) the standard for findings to support an award of attorney fees following remand from an MDL .

1. Does state law govern under Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins , 304 U.S. 64 (1938) and Alyeska Pipeline Serv. Co. v. Wilderness Soc'y , 421 U.S. 240 (1975) , or does inherent federal equitable power allow the fashioning of an award by the transferor court ?

2. If the use of equity is proper , what standard governs : the common fund doctrine as defined by Boeing Co. v. Van Gemert, 444 U.S. 472 (1980) and Alyeska , or the common benefit doctrine developed for MDL fee awards ?

3. Does Hensley v. Eckerhart , 461 U.S. 424, 438 (1983) allow a transferor court sitting in diversity to allocate contractual fees from individual settlements based on findings by an MDL -transferee court involving a class action settlement , or is the transferor court required to provide its own "clear explanation" of its award ?

Authority-of-court-in-diversity-jurisdiction-to-allocate-contractual-attorney-fees