The Sixth Circuit recently limited defendants’ ability to craft settlements that disproportionately favor the class representatives. Vassalle v. Midland Funding LLC, — F.3d –, 2013 WL 673517 (6th Cir. Feb. 26, 2013). Though the court did not pass on the ubiquitous incentive award, its skepticism of “preferential treatment” for class representatives might cause district courts … Continue Reading
Class action defense practitioners routinely face uphill battles on the issue of individualized defenses for class members. However, these arguments should not be overlooked as tools to defeat class certification. Lipton v. Chattem, Inc., No. 11 C 2952, 2013 WL 489147 (N.D. Il. Feb. 8, 2013), a recent case out of the Northern District of … Continue Reading
Do you ever wonder how plaintiffs’ class action lawyers find their class representatives? And whether there is any possibility of defeating class certification if their efforts are sleazy or downright unethical? In the recent decision of Reliable Money Order, Inc. v. McKnight Sales Co., Inc., —F.3d —, No. 12-2599, 2013 WL 85937 (7th Cir. Jan. … Continue Reading
In a recent decision, the Second Circuit determined that in a class action settlement that capped total compensation, separate categories of claims must each have separate class representatives and separate counsel. In In re Literary Works in Electronic Databases Copyright Litigation, 654 F.3d 242 (2d Cir. 2011), the Second Circuit found representation in a class … Continue Reading
