The Center for Class Action Fairness filed its opening brief challenging a class action settlement in a consumer privacy case against Google because it provides millions of dollars to attorneys and zero dollars to the class.
The Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) filed an objection arguing against a cynical settlement in a Facebook class action that provides $3.9 million in fees and expenses to the plaintiffs’ attorneys and only a vague 22-word addition to Facebook’s “Help Center” for the class members.
Yesterday, in a victory for CCAF, the court decided to reduce the attorneys’ grossly disproportionate fee request by 25 percent, from more than $17 million to $13 million.
Attorneys general from 13 states filed an amicus brief supporting the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) in its challenge of an unfair class action coupon settlement that involves Provide Commerce, Inc., the parent company of Proflowers.com. The case, In re: Easysaver Rewards Litigation, is on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In Easysaver, class counsel intentionally inflated the value of the settlement—to the tune of $38 million—in order to…
CCAF recently objected to the proposed class action settlement, class certification, and class attorneys' fees request in Kumar v. Salov North America Corp. on behalf of class member Ted Frank. The plaintiffs in this case alleged the defendant deceptively marketed their Filippo Berio brand olive oil as “Imported from Italy,” when many of the olives used to make the oil came from other countries.
“In a class action settlement with Citigroup shareholders, lawyers tried to direct a leftover balance from the settlement fund to advocacy groups that clash with the interests of class members,” said Ted Frank. “But now, after CEI objected to that unfair outcome, class attorneys have discovered a way to send those remaining settlement dollars to class members.”
CCAF objected Thursday to an unfair settlement that leaves class members with virtually nothing, their attorneys with over half of the settlement fund - $1.35 million - and most remaining funds to an unrelated organization.
Class member and Center for Class Action Fairness attorney Anna St. John objected to the settlement approval, class certification, and request for attorneys' fees in Saska v. Metropolitan Museum of Art on January 27, 2017. The original case claims that the Museum's "pay what you wish" admission policy deceived the public in violation of state law. The proposed settlement provides class members with near-worthless injunctive relief, primarily in the form of changes…
CCAF is appealing the approval of the settlement of a shareholder suit in which the plaintiffs' attorneys received $575,000, while the shareholders recovered only immaterial supplemental disclosures.
CCAF Attorney Adam Schulman said, “This settlement exemplifies the problem of class action attorneys behaving as if they have no clients other than the general public. It is unacceptable to propose a settlement that waives class members’ rights yet provides them absolutely nothing in return."
