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Concept-Changes_Hughway_Sign_44809020Rule 23 may be in for some major changes. The Advisory Committee has commissioned a Rule 23 subcommittee to investigate possible revisions to the class action rules. That subcommittee issued a report (pdf) discussing its progress, and recently has been conducting a “listening tour” of sorts regarding potential rule changes.

Our initial view is that the business community should have serious concerns about the approach that at least some members of the subcommittee appear to be taking, as several proposals are aimed at rolling back judicial decisions—including Supreme Court decisions—that are critical to ensuring that class actions satisfy the requirements of due process.

Here are ten things you need to know from the subcommittee’s report.Continue Reading Ten Things Class Action Practitioners Need To Know About Potential Amendments To Federal Rule Of Civil Procedure 23

The first bill signed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown—H.B. 2700 (pdf)—changes the rules for handling payment of damages awards in class actions in Oregon state courts. Effective immediately, including for pending actions, the new law attempts to redirect unclaimed damages under class-action settlements or judgments to the state bar’s legal aid program and to charities picked by the judge presiding over each case. In other words, Oregon has effectively mandated cy pres in every class action. (We’ve repeatedly covered—and criticized—the use of cy pres awards in class actions.)

Among other things, the new law amends Oregon Rule of Civil …
Continue Reading New Oregon class-action law purports to seize unclaimed damages for legal aid and judge-picked charities

We previously wrote about the Third Circuit’s decision in Carrera v. Bayer Corp., which reversed a district court’s class-certification order because there was no reliable way to ascertain class membership—indeed, no way to identify who was a member of the class aside from a class member’s own say-so. Last week, the full Third Circuit denied (pdf) the plaintiff’s request to rehear the case en banc over the dissent of four judges. The clear message of Carrera is that when plaintiffs file class actions that have no hope of compensating class members for alleged wrongs because the class members can’t be found, courts should refuse to let these actions proceed.

As we discuss below, the denial of rehearing is significant in itself, given the concerted efforts by Carrera and his amici to draw attention to the case. But what might be most significant about this latest set of opinions is what even the dissenting judges did not say.Continue Reading Third Circuit Rejects Effort At End Run Around The Ascertainability Requirement

Proponents of class actions often contend that these lawsuits deliver substantial benefits to class members. But while media coverage of class actions often suggests that class members are receiving millions of dollars in relief, most practitioners in the class action arena know that the reality is quite different. That said, to date there has been little empirical information on the practical results of class actions.

My colleagues and I have sought to change that. At the request of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform, a team of Mayer Brown lawyers (including Andy Pincus and me) have produced a study detailing how consumer and employee class actions filed in 2009 actually fared in practice. The bottom line: of the class actions we studied, only a few cases delivered tangible benefits to more than a small fraction of class members.

A copy of the study is available here. It has already received press coverage in Forbes and Reuters’ On the Case blog.Continue Reading New Study Finds That Class Members Rarely Benefit From Class Actions

For weeks, class-action practitioners have been waiting to see whether the Supreme Court would grant review in Marek v. Lane, a case involving a challenge to the cy pres component of the class settlement of the Facebook “Beacon” litigation. The Court did not, but Chief Justice Roberts issued a rare statement respecting the denial that sounded a warning to everyone involved in class-action settlements: At least some Justices are on the lookout for a case in which to address the propriety of cy pres settlements.

Here’s the background. The plaintiffs alleged that Facebook’s Beacon program violated a host of…
Continue Reading Supreme Court Denies Review—This Time—Of Challenge To Cy Pres Class Settlement

Social media can be a game-changer for class actions.

I was recently reminded of this when reading news coverage of a proposed class settlement of claims involving chicken that a fast food restaurant allegedly had improperly described as halal. A Michigan lawyer, who wasn’t involved in the case, had taken to Facebook to complain that the settlement would distribute the $700,000 class fund to plaintiff’s counsel and two charities rather than to class members. (We’ve previously blogged about the emerging backlash against settlements with large cy pres components.)

Plaintiff’s counsel, apparently fearing that the Facebook posting would stir up objectors,…
Continue Reading Will Your Class Action Go Viral?

We’ve blogged before about federal courts’ increasing reluctance to approve class settlements that involve a significant cy pres component. The Third Circuit’s recent decision in In re Baby Products Litigation (pdf) is the latest example of this trend.

Class counsel often use the distribution of funds to handpicked charities in order to disguise the percentage of the class recovery that’s actually going right into class counsel’s pocket. That may have been what was going on in In re Baby Products Litigation. In that case, class counsel got almost five times as much money ($14 million in fees and expenses) …
Continue Reading Third Circuit Rejects Class Settlement Because Class Fund Went to Class Counsel and Cy Pres Rather than Class Members

Past posts have noted that federal courts have become increasingly skeptical of class-action settlements that contain a cy pres component.  Another recent example is In re Groupon, Inc., Marketing & Sales Practices Litigation (S.D. Cal.).  The plaintiffs in this case alleged that Groupon violated various federal and state consumer-protection statutes by marketing vouchers with allegedly improper restrictions on usage.  In settling the case, Groupon agreed to create a settlement fund of $8.5 million, of which $2.125 million would be paid to class counsel as attorneys’ fees.  The remaining funds would be used to provide settlement vouchers (good for 130 days)…
Continue Reading In re Groupon, Inc., Marketing & Sales Practices Litigation: Judicial Skepticism Of Cy Pres Dooms Another Settlement

On September 26, California Superior Court Judge Kenneth Freeman rejected a proposed class settlement of allegations that Ticketmaster had misled ticket buyers by implying that fully disclosed charges for an Order Processing Fee and delivery by U.P.S. represented its actual costs.

Before commenting on the grounds for rejecting the settlement, though, I can’t resist observing that this is still another illustration of a lawyer-driven class action that attacks a practice that causes no actual harm to consumers. While at first blush it might appear unseemly to charge delivery fees that exceed the amount actually charged by UPS, it is a…
Continue Reading Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster: California Trial Court Rejects “Pure” Coupon Settlement As Well As “Clear Sailing” Agreement To Pay Class Counsel $15 Million In Attorneys’ Fees

The Second Circuit’s recent decision in Hecht v. United Collection Bureau, Inc., No. 11-1327 (2d Cir. Aug. 17, 2012), should sound alarm bells for any business that attempts to settle a class action.  The takeaway from the decision is to make sure that  notice of the settlement to absent class members is adequate. Under some circumstances, a single notice in the USA Today won’t cut it. And if it doesn’t, the release in the settlement won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on, and other plaintiffs will be free to bring the exact same class action against you.
Continue Reading Second Circuit: Insufficient Notice of Class Action Settlement Means That Class Members Can Bring Copycat Class Actions