A federal appeals court has overturned a class action settlement that gave the plaintiffs’ lawyers $2.73 million and Pampers customers with receipts and UPC codes a refund on a box of diapers.

The recent decision by the Sixth Circuit, overturning approval of a class action settlement in In re Dry Max Pampers Litigation (6th Cir. Aug. 2, 2013), is another in a string of wins for the Center for Class Action Fairness, which objects to settlements it considers unjust, and another reminder to class action defendants that they have to bear objections in mind when negotiating settlements.

That settlement was challenged by the Center for Class Action Fairness, a Washington nonprofit that challenges class-action settlements it views to be unfair. “When attorneys get more than the class is getting, it’s an unfair settlement,” said Ted Frank, the organization’s founder. “The class counsel owes an obligation to its clients to get a good deal for them before it gets paid.”

“We’re very pleased – we’re doing this to play traffic cop and make the law better,” Frank said. “The class attorneys have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients, but a lot of attorneys prefer to just negotiate settlements where they get all the money and their clients get imaginary relief.” Far too often, Frank said, judges rubber stamp such settlements.