For a second time in 10 months, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is seeking outside help for his office's lawsuit against Volkswagen.
In October 2015, Morrisey solicited bids from private law firms to assist with the lawsuit, which alleges the German automaker cheated on emissions tests for years. Seven law firms applied, but Morrisey didn't hire any of them.
"As the case began developing, it became clear that we didn't need outside counsel at that time," said Anthony Martin, chief operating officer for Morrisey's office. "We strive to handle as much of the work in house as possible, to save taxpayer monies. Now that needs have changed, we believe it would benefit citizens of the state to obtain outside counsel."
Morrisey's latest request for help includes a significant change: The office has set a "15 to 18 percent" cap on attorneys' fees. So the private lawyers would only be paid up to 18 percent of whatever Volkswagen agrees to pay the state, if the two sides settle the case.
State law and a Morrisey office policy limit attorneys' fees to 25 percent - although Morrisey's outside lawyers have received court-ordered fee awards of 33 percent to 40 percent after settlements with nine companies in recent months.
In courtrooms across the state, Morrisey has been fighting against his appointed outside lawyers - called special assistant attorneys general -over attorneys' fees.
"We made the decision to cap fees ... because we now believe that range strikes the best balance between the needed legal services and our desire to ensure that the maximum value can be returned to the state through this litigation at the minimum expense to the taxpayer," Martin said in an email.
Morrisey recently updated the Volkswagen lawsuit, adding the company's Audi and Porsche brands as defendants. The complaint also includes German auto supplier Bosch.
Volkswagen has admitted rigging diesel emissions technology to pass U.S. smog tests. West Virginia University researchers helped uncover the scandal.
In June, Volkswagen agreed to pay as much as $15.3 billion in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department.
VW also announced a separate agreement with 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that will cost at least $600 million. West Virginia didn't sign on to that deal.
"The referenced settlement underrepresented the impact on our state and did not acknowlege WVU's role in discovering the emissions scheme," said Curtis Johnson, a Morrisey spokesman.
Morrisey's lawsuit estimates that more than 2,700 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicles were registered in West Virginia during the seven years VW rigged software to pass emissions tests. The complaint seeks civil penalties of $5,000 per violation and refunds for West Virginia consumers who bought Volkswagen's "clean-diesel" vehicles.
Law firms hoping to represent Morrisey's office have until Friday to submit proposals.
Firms that bid on the contract last year were: Tiano O'Dell; Pullin, Fowler, Flanagan, Brown & Poe; Bailey & Wyant; Hendrickson & Long; Bowles Rice; Bailey, Javins & Carter; and Cohen, Millstein, Sellers & Toll.
Martin said Morrisey's office tries to settle consumer cases without hiring outside lawyers. He cited a settlement last year with Frontier Communications over internet speeds as an example.
Since Morrisey took office in 2013, he has twice hired outside lawyers to help with consumer-protection lawsuits. One was against drug wholesaler McKesson Corp. The other was to collect on a $13 million judgment against California pay-day lender CashCall.
Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.