Podcast: When Enough is not Enough: Frank v. Poertner
Ted Frank speaks to the Federalist Society Litigation Practice Group Podcast regarding his cert petition with the Supreme Court in Frank v. Poertner.
U.S. court voids payout of unclaimed funds in BofA class action
(Reuters) - A federal district judge abused her discretion in awarding a nonprofit money left over from a $490 million securities class-action settlement concerning the 1998 merger of BankAmerica and NationsBank that created Bank of America Corp, a divided federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.
Seventh Circuit Continues Scrutiny Of Class Action Settlements And ‘Cy Pres’
Judge Posner agreed with little of what the lower court determined, but he found the trial judge's refusal to consider the cy pres amount in calculating the class benefit correct "for the obvious reason that the recipient of that award was not a member of the class."
Judge Tosses Glucosamine Settlement
Posner, ruling in favor of objectors in Pearson v. NBTY, outlines a series of conflicts and deceptions that any class-action lawyer worth her salt would sue over in an instant. But in this case it was the lawyers who perpetrated them, with the help of a judge who was all too willing to overlook the economic realities of the consumer class-action business.
Federal Appeals Court Declares Radioshack Corporation (RSH) Class-Action Settlement Void
Ted Frank, a lawyer who also represented a couple in the case, was happy with the court’s decision. He went further to say that the beneficiaries should be the class members, and any settlement should be based on actual recovery and not inflated figures that won’t benefit the class.
Appeals Court Rejects $1 Million Fee In Radio Shack Coupon Settlement
The judge allowed the plaintiff lawyers to submit their fee request after the objection period ended, hamstringing objectors including Ted Frank's Center for Class Action Fairness, which nevertheless scored a big win here.
U.S. court voids RadioShack class-action settlement over card receipts
Ted Frank, a critic of what he considers excessive legal fees and who represented a couple opposing the RadioShack settlement, in a phone interview welcomed the decision.
McClellan: Divvying Up $2.7 Million in Leftovers
"The big question was this: Why should money belonging to the class members be given to a charity — no matter how much the judge and the class-action lawyers like the charity? The judge in this instance is U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson. The lawyers are from the firm of Green Jacobson."
Pennies for Plaintiffs, Millions for Lawyers
The judge presiding over a Hewlett-Packard shareholder suit has balked at the $48 million in fees negotiated by attorneys in a settlement. The amount of money that shareholders were going to get was not negligible, unlike some of the consumer suits where the victims get a coupon good for more product from the company they've accused of doing them wrong. But the judge seems to think that it's disproportionally small compared with what the lawyers were getting.
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HP Inkjet Settlement Objectors Continue Fight To Disqualify Cotchett
Ted Frank of the Center for Class Action Fairness, representing the objectors, also fought back against HP’s claims that the objections were brought in bad faith. Frank pointed to the existence of the retainer agreement and HP’s opposition to an advantageous motion to decertify the class.
