The full text of each summary can be found below through the Table of Contents links. Highlights from this issue include: Uninjured Class Members. The Supreme Court had originally granted a writ to decide whether federal...more
When a class action lawsuit ends, class counsel typically seek a fee award. Under Rule 23(h), the district court must make findings of facts and conclusions of law to support an award of “reasonable attorney’s fees and...more
Standing. The Fifth Circuit declined the opportunity to determine whether it would follow the “class certification” or the “standing” approach to standing....more
Two years ago, in Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, the Eleventh Circuit upended decades’ worth of precedent by categorically forbidding incentive payments to class representatives in class action settlements...more
On Wednesday, August 3, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit confirmed the groundbreaking decision that incentive payments given to a named plaintiff in a class action are improper by denying a petition for rehearing en banc that had...more
Class action settlements are complicated affairs. They can take months or even years to negotiate, followed by months to send notice and obtain trial court approval, and months or years longer if an approval order is...more
On September 17, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a bombshell decision: A court may not award an incentive fee to a class representative. This is surprising, if not shocking, as it is standard...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the latest development in the ultra-high stakes nationwide Prescription Opiate Litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently granted the petition of six Ohio cities to appeal the ...more
• En banc 9th Circuit affirmed a $210 million settlement in multidistrict litigation against Hyundai and Kia relating to their alleged misrepresentations about the fuel efficiency of their vehicles, reversing the decision of...more
Sometimes, the strict rules governing certification of a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 can actually hinder settlement of a class, even if the parties agree that this is the best result. Yesterday, the...more
In Frank v. Gaos, the Supreme Court appeared poised to decide a divisive class action issue: whether settlement awards to third-party charities (known as cy pres awards) are valid. On March 20, however, an 8-1 majority...more
The Situation: Under the Class Action Fairness Act, the Department of Justice may object to federal class action settlements it believes are unfair or inequitable to unnamed class members. The Result: In the past year,...more
The Situation: Recently amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e)(2) requires courts to analyze several factors in evaluating whether to approve class settlements. The Result: Class action settlements that would...more
The United States Supreme Court recently approved and adopted amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 concerning class action practice as proposed by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. The amended rule went into...more
Some legal commentators and lawyers have pronounced the death of class actions in light of significant changes in the law in the last fifteen years, including the passage of the Class Action Fairness Act and the Supreme...more
On December 1, 2018, the amendments to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 took effect, principally altering portions of the Rule governing class action notice, settlement, and appeals. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: At 852 pages, Seyfarth’s 15th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report analyzes 1,453 rulings and is our most comprehensive Report ever. ...more
A number of changes to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 took effect on December 1, 2018. They’ve been in the works for some time, so no surprises, but now is a good time to summarize them. ...more
Takeaway: Where a class settlement is reached, objectors may be lurking, oftentimes to extort personal payments. Earlier this year, the Seventh Circuit termed this practice “objector blackmail.” Judge Rakoff of the Southern...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff class action firm alleging that objectors to class action settlements violated both RICO and Illinois state law by filing frivolous objections in order to seek payouts,...more
Since almost all certified class actions settle, a Circuit Court of Appeals decision affecting the viability of such settlements is certain to receive a lot of attention from class action practitioners. This is particularly...more
In 2015, the Rule 23 Subcommittee to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules floated the idea of amending Rule 23 to eliminate the predominance requirement for class certification in the settlement context. The suggestions...more
Last month, the Ninth Circuit vacated the certification of a nationwide class for settlement in the In re Hyundai & Kia Fuel Economy Litigation, No. 15-56014, 881 F.3d 679 (9th Cir. Jan. 23, 2018). The Ninth Circuit concluded...more
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to take a more active role in reviewing and objecting to class action settlements under a rarely used procedure established by the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) more than a dozen...more
In a case that reveals the darker aspects of what can sometimes be an ugly competition for the class counsel role, the Eleventh Circuit rendered an opinion last week finding that a group of plaintiffs were entitled to...more