Forbes mentions Ted Frank’s consideration of objecting to a settlement that paid attorneys a much larger amount than the class members.
Ted Frank of the Center for Class Action Fairness is considering filing an objection to the Fraley settlement, saying in an e-mail to me that “we’re concerned about the disproportionate attorney payment …and the preexisting relationship between Facebook and some of the proposed recipients.”
“If Facebook is already giving money to these charities, then this isn’t a “$10 million settlement,” it’s just a change in accounting entries,” he said.
Frank last year won a precedent-setting victory in the Ninth Circuit overturning a settlement of a Bluetooth hearing-loss case that would have paid attorneys $850,000 and provided nothing for their supposed clients. The ruling established new rules for judges to evaluate such settlements, discouraging collusive terms such as “clear sailing” agreements preventing the defendant from challenging legal fees and contracts that provide the same amount of fees to the plaintiff lawyers regardless of what happens to the settlement.
Read the full article at Forbes.