By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Michael L. DeMarino
Seyfarth Synopsis: Professional class settlement objectors can be a thorn-in-the-side for employers and class counsel attempting to settle class actions. Their M.O. is often the same — frivolously object, appeal its denial, settle out of court, and withdraw. It is already hard enough to obtain court approval of
Continue Reading Illinois Appellate Court Rules That Class Settlement Objectors Engaged In Fraud On the Court
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Michael L. DeMarino
Seyfarth Synopsis: In an opinion laced with frustration over a third appeal in a class action involving attorneys’ fees, the Seventh Circuit ruled that an objector was entitled to recover attorneys’ fees from class counsel’s fee award. “Unless the parties expressly agree otherwise,” the Seventh Circuit explained, “settlement agreements should
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Allows Objector To Recover Fees From Class Counsel’s Fee Award
By Christopher M. Cascino and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Pearson v. Target Corp., No. 17-2275, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 17337 (7th Cir. June 26, 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit took aim at self-serving class settlement objectors and ordered the district court to review whether certain objectors received compensation in exchange
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Allows Review Of Potential Payments Made To Class Members Objecting To Class Settlement
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a class action asserting claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and statutory fraud in regards to the sale of general-use, pre-paid gift cards, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the final approval of a settlement agreement whereby the attorneys’ fees and costs totaled $1.95 million, while the class members
Continue Reading Class Action Cash-In: 7th Circuit Allows Attorneys’ Fees To Exceed Plaintiffs’ Payout
By Christopher M. Cascino and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
In In Re Southwest Airlines Voucher Litigation, Case No. 13-3264 (7th Cir. Aug. 20, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a fee award to class counsel in a class action that resulted in a “coupon settlement” – a settlement in which the defendant agrees to
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Provides Guidance On Fairness Of Class Action Settlement Agreements And Fee Awards
By Christopher M. Cascino and Jennifer A. Riley
In In Re Capital One Telephone Consumer Protection Act Litigation, Case No. 12-CV-10064, 2015 WL 605203 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 12, 2015), Judge James Holderman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently approved an unprecedented $75,455,099 settlement for 1,378,534 class members in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Continue Reading Unclear TCPA Regulations Lead To Windfall For Class Action Plaintiffs’ Counsel
By Christopher M. Cascino and Jennifer Riley
On January 14, 2015, in Kragnes v. Schroeder, No. 13-2065 (Iowa App. Ct. Jan. 14, 2015), the Iowa Appellate Court upheld the district court’s decision to cut the fees of plaintiffs’ counsel in a successful class action from a requested $15 million to $7 million. Though not a workplace class action, the
Continue Reading Iowa Appellate Court Provides Leverage To Employers In Class Action Settlement Negotiations
On October 31, 2014, in Oliver v. Orleans Parish Sch. Bd., No. 2014-C-0329 (La. Oct. 31, 2014), the Supreme Court of Louisiana reversed a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal decision and dismissed a class action lawsuit brought by Plaintiffs, 7,600 former teachers and permanent school district employees who were terminated following Hurricane Katrina in 2005,
Continue Reading “Exceptional” Class Action Dismissed By Supreme Court Of Louisiana
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alexis P. Robertson
Settling a workplace class action is far more complicated than resolving other types of litigation. Yet, the fundamental building blocks of settling a case – an offer, acceptance of precise terms, and substantiation of the agreement – are equally as important in resolving a simple as well as a complex piece
Continue Reading How Not To Settle A Class Action
That’s not a typo! In a decision issued on August 8, 2014, Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected the parties’ $324.5 million proposed class action settlement as inadequate and denied the Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval in In Re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-CV-0250, 2014 U.S. Dist.
Continue Reading Court Refused To Approve $324.5 Million Settlement In Workplace Antitrust Class Action
