MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court is throwing out a decision that gave $124 million to lawyers who handled a complicated lawsuit.

A decision released Friday says a Jefferson County judge wrongly granted the money to lawyers before people involved in the suit had a chance to properly object.

The justices also agreed that the lawyers didn’t provide documentation to show how much work they did on the case.

The legal dispute dates back nearly 20 years and involves the Birmingham-based MedPartners Inc. Multiple lawsuits were consolidated into a class-action lawsuit involving securities fraud that resulted in a $56 million settlement.

Another lawsuit later targeted MedPartners’ corporate successor, CareMark RX. That case resulted in a $310 million settlement, and the trial judge gave lawyers 40 percent of the total, or $124 million.