• August 11, 2020

The Seventh Circuit Clears a Roadblock to Settlement

Class Action Settlements, Objections to Class Settlements
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As I have discussed in earlier posts, there are multiple stakeholders to class action settlements, including named plaintiffs, absent class members, class counsel, defendants, and the courts. Conflicts can arise within some of these groups, and perhaps most often arise among the class members themselves. A settlement that looks good to one named plaintiff or their counsel, for example, might not look good to another member of the class or their counsel. The ability of dissenting class members to object to a proposed settlement is one safeguard that can assist a court in determining whether a class action settlement satisfies Rule 23(e)(2)’s “fair, reasonable, and adequate” standard.

When an objection is brought in good faith and has merit, it can result in a better deal for the class. Unfortunately, not all objections are made in good faith. Rather, some are made with the sole objective of enriching the objector and the objector’s counsel, with no accompanying benefit to the settlement class. And often parties and their

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  • July 22, 2020

Keys to Class Action Settlements: Understanding the Interests at Stake

Class Action Mediation, Class Action Settlements
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Fundamental to the ability to settle a class action is understanding the interests that are being represented by the parties and other stakeholders. Although any given case might present its own unique circumstances, in general the interests can be described as follows.

  1. Named Plaintiffs. The interests of the named plaintiffs are the most obvious and immediate, yet also can be viewed, and often are treated, as the least important. That’s because the named plaintiffs have chosen to serve as representatives of a larger group, and in so doing, have agreed to pursue the greater good rather than simply act in their own self-interest. That they have done so does not mean that they have relinquished their personal interests in the settlement; only that they have assumed a responsibility to look beyond them to support a settlement that is fair to everyone they seek to represent, which by sheer math dilutes their own stakes in the outcome. And because most named plaintiffs do not
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  • April 13, 2020

Virtual Mediation (Part 2): The Challenge of Establishing Trust

Class Action Mediation
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Like most aspects of litigation, mediation is a very personal pursuit. So much depends on the credibility and communication skills of the participants. Equally important are the participants’ non-verbal cues, including tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. And a key to success of many mediations is the ability of the mediator to develop a rapport and trust with all of the players. Just as online poker cannot truly replicate the in-person card game, so virtual mediation is not a perfect substitute for a mediation that takes place around an actual table.

Despite its deficiencies, virtual mediation has some advantages. If some participants are not located where the mediation is taking place, it can save them the time and cost of travel. It also may provide some greater flexibility in how the mediation is structured. And, of course, in times like these, there may simply be no alternative than to mediate online. But parties who do not have to go to the trouble and expense

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  • April 11, 2020

Virtual Mediations in the Age of COVID-19

Class Action Mediation
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I have been giving a lot of thought to the pros and cons of virtual mediation, and have been planning to post something here about that. In the meantime, my partner, Tom Dunn, has posted a very helpful piece about virtual mediation on our construction law blog. I still plan to add my two cents, but I couldn’t do a better job of describing many of the key differences between in-person and virtual mediations than Tom has done here. And “virtually” all of his observations apply equally to mediations of class action cases. So I give you this excellent and informative piece. I hope you find it as helpful as I did. https://www.solidfoundationconstructionlaw.com/2020/04/09/virtual-meditations-are-zooming-forward-jump-on-board/

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  • March 04, 2020

The Roles of the Players in Class Settlements. Part 3: The Judge

Class Action Settlements
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In previous posts, I have discussed the roles of two of the players in class settlements: defense counsel and class counsel. For the third and final installment in this series, I will discuss the role of the third and most important player: the judge.

No class settlement can happen unless approved by a judge. Because most of the people affected by a class settlement are absent class members who are not before the court and have no real relationship with any of the attorneys, the judge has a special responsibility to protect their interests. That responsibility arises because of the potential for a conflict of interest between the named plaintiff and the named plaintiff’s counsel, on the one hand, and the class members who will be bound by the settlement, on the other. The process for settlement approval is designed to protect those absent class members from the risk of collusion between and among the named parties, in other words, the

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  • January 19, 2020

The Roles of the Players in Class Settlements. Part 2: Class Counsel

Class Action Settlements
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In Part 1 of this series, I explained the role of defense counsel in class action settlements. In this Part 2, I will explore the role of class counsel.

I embark on this journey with some trepidation, because as a defense counsel myself I have always been on the outside looking in to the plaintiff’s side of the class action settlement process. However, I have settled enough class actions that I believe I can speak with some authority on the issues, even if a few of the details might get a bit blurred in the process.

As a starting point, class counsel must tackle the same tasks I described in Part 1  — negotiating the key terms, drafting the agreement, and seeking court approval — but has the lead role with respect to the latter. Like defense counsel, class counsel need to seek the best deal they can extract from the other side and that, at a minimum, will

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  • November 23, 2019

A Few Do’s and Don’ts of Class Mediations

Class Action Mediation
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Having experienced class action mediations both as advocate and as mediator, I have witnessed a variety of approaches to the mediation process, some helpful and some unhelpful. Here is a partial list of do’s and don’ts when representing parties to a class action mediation.

  • DO come to the mediation fully prepared, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your case and understanding the litigation risks to both sides. The risk analysis will depend in part on the stage of litigation during which the mediation occurs. For example, has the court yet ruled on the motion for class certification? If so, what is the likelihood that the court’s decision will withstand an appeal (if it hasn’t already gone through a Rule 23(f) appeal)? If not, how do you handicap the likelihood of class certification? Has summary judgment been briefed, argued, or decided? If not decided yet, what are the probabilities of success for each side? If plaintiffs prevail, what models are available for measuring damages,
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  • August 08, 2019

Google, Cookies, and Cy-Pres-Only Settlements

Class Action Settlements
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In a case strikingly similar to a case that had been before the Supreme Court last term and that involves the same defendant and the same well-traveled objector, a unanimous panel of the Third Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s approval of a Rule 23(b)(2) class action settlement that included cy pres payments but no payments to class members.  Its decision addresses important questions arising from a controversial approach to class action settlements.

The reader may recall the case of Frank v. Gaos, in which the Supreme Court had granted certiorari to review a settlement that had a significant cy pres component but no money going to the class. We wrote about the case in our First Class Defense blog, and you can find that post here. The defendant in Frank v. Gaos was Google, and the case challenged Google’s use of “referral headers” in its search results that transmitted data about the user

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  • August 04, 2019

The Roles of the Players in Class Settlements. Part 1: Defense Counsel

Class Action Settlements
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Class action settlements are different from other settlements for several reasons. The most obvious difference is that class action settlements are subject to a unique notice and court approval process. The overriding purpose of the process is to ensure fairness to members of the class. Judicial oversight is deemed necessary because most class members have little knowledge of the lawsuit and are unknown to plaintiffs’ counsel yet will be bound by the decisions counsel make on their behalf.

The nature of class action settlements and the process to which they are subject fundamentally alter the roles of counsel and the court. This post and the ones that follow will explore these altered roles. We will start with the simplest one – the role of defense counsel.

Examining the role of defense counsel in a class action settlement is simplest because, unlike plaintiffs’ counsel, defense attorneys generally possess no potential conflict of interest in the settlement approval process. Their duty to their clients remains undivided

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  • July 08, 2019

Class Action Settlements: A Few Links To Get Us Started

Class Action Settlements
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Welcome to our newest blog, Class Action Settlements and Mediation! The purpose of this blog is to provide information about developments in the law of class action settlements, as well as practical tips for lawyers and parties mediating class actions and negotiating class action settlements.  As many lawyers know, settling a class action is far more complex than settling a single-plaintiff lawsuit, and I hope that this site will become a useful resource for both plaintiffs’ and defendants’ attorneys undertaking that monumental task.

To kick it off, I have decided to link to a few posts from our website and our First Class Defense blog that offer guidance and legal updates relevant to class action settlements. If you find these links useful, you may also want to read my white paper on class action mediation, which you can find in the right-hand panel of this blog’s home page. Soon, I will be posting original material on the topics of class action settlements and mediation.

Here

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