Last week the Eleventh Circuit addressed an issue that many class action practitioners probably haven’t thought much about: whether approval of a class action settlement requires that each class member obtaining relief have Article III standing to sue. Defendants typically want a broad class definition because they are focused on finality and buying peace. Plaintiffs
Class Action Settlements
Are Incentive Awards for Named Plaintiffs in Class Actions Allowed? Not According to the Eleventh Circuit
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit struck down a practice that is commonplace in class action settlements—providing a modest incentive award to a named plaintiff. In Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, No. 18-12344, 2020 WL 5553312 (11th Cir. Sept. 17, 2020), the district court, as part of the final approval of a class…
Ninth Circuit Reverses Class Action Settlement Based on Notice Concerns and Insufficient Scrutiny
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
Class action settlements are complicated. They often take months to negotiate. The last thing the lawyers or their clients on either side want to happen is for the trial court to deny approval or, even worse, for an appellate court to overturn a decision approving the settlement when an objector appeals. That happened earlier this…
Supreme Court to Address Use of Cy Pres Relief in Class Action Settlements Next Term
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
The Supreme Court recently granted review in a case that involves whether, or in what circumstances, cy pres relief may be used in class action settlements. In Frank v. Gaos, No. 17-961, the Court will review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in In re Google Referrer Header Privacy Litig., 869 F.3d 737 (9th Cir.…
Second Chance to Opt Out of Class Not Required for Class Action Settlement
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
The Ninth Circuit recently ruled in favor of President Trump. That was not a typo, and this is not fake news. The ruling was not in favor of Trump in his official capacity, but in his capacity as a class action defendant. And it was in a case where the plaintiffs were on his side,…
Are Nationwide Class Settlements Endangered By Ninth Circuit’s Opinion in Hyundai and Kia Case?
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
The Ninth Circuit’s decision this week vacating a class action settlement in In re Hyundai and Kia Fuel Economy Litig., No. 15-65014 (9th Cir. Jan. 23, 2018) is getting a lot of attention in the class action bar. It’s 84 pages long, but the bottom line is that the Ninth Circuit held that the…
Visa/Mastercard Class Action Settlement Struck Down Due To Intraclass Conflict
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
Yesterday the Second Circuit reversed the approval of what was reportedly the largest antitrust class action settlement in history, valued at $7.25 billion. In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 12047 (2d Cir. June 30, 2016). The case was brought by merchants who challenged the fees…
Is a Class of Opt Outs Viable? Florida Court of Appeal Says No
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
A recent Florida appellate court decision caught my eye because it addressed a potentially-important issue that is not expressly addressed by Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, and has rarely been litigated: whether persons who have opted out of a class action settlement may pursue another class action on the same claims. The court held that…
Injunction in Aid of Class Action Settlement Addressed by Seventh Circuit
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
Defendants who are defending multiple class actions involving the same issue in different jurisdictions can sometimes be faced with a quandary when they want to settle. They might reach a settlement agreement with plaintiffs’ counsel in one of the cases, but until that settlement is final, which typically takes months, they may have to continue…
Cy Pres Distributions in Class Action Settlements Addressed By Eighth Circuit
By Wystan Ackerman on
Posted in Class Action Settlements
Over the last several years, federal courts of appeals have been closely scrutinizing cy pres distributions to charitable organizations in class action settlements. This includes opinions by the First Circuit, Third Circuit and Ninth Circuit. The general thrust of these decisions is that cy pres should be used sparingly, and the charitable organization …