On Monday evening, CCAF filed its opening appeal brief in a class action where the plaintiffs claim Filippo Berio olive oil was falsely marketed as “Imported from Italy,” when the olives used actually came from other countries.
In too many settlements, the same lawyers who rail against deceptive marketing tactics use deceptive settlement provisions to unfairly appropriate the lion’s share of the money for themselves. Kumar v. Salov North America Corp., where the attorneys look to get over 300% of what their clients will, is a good example of this unwelcome phenomenon.
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.
On July 7, 2017, the district court granted final approval of the settlement, even though more than 80 percent of the settlement fund would go to class counsel rather than the class members.
