It’s rare for a court to appoint its own expert in a class action. But Judge Gleeson of the Eastern District of New York is poised to do precisely that in order to help him decide whether to grant final approval to the $7.25 billion proposed class settlement of antitrust claims by retailers challenging Visa’s and MasterCard’s interchange fees. Some observers say that the proposed class settlement in the case—In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:05-md-01720—would be the largest class settlement of private antitrust claims in U.S. history.

In November,
Continue Reading Judge Mulls Appointment of Own Expert to Evaluate What Could Be the Largest-Ever Class Settlement of Private Antitrust Claims

Antitrust class actions differ in a number of respects from the ordinary run of consumer class actions. Perhaps most notably, they frequently involve classes made up, not of individual consumers, but of highly sophisticated businesses with potentially enormous sums of money on the line. These class members sometimes take an active role in the litigation, using innovative tactics to advance their individual interests within the broader context of the class action.

It doesn’t always work. In Precision Associates, Inc. v. Panalpina World Transport (pdf), a class action under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, several large class members intervened and
Continue Reading Can Class Members Opt Out of a Class Settlement But Not the Action? No, Says E.D.N.Y.