A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarified that the benefit to the class is the “touchstone for determining the reasonableness of attorneys’ fees in a class action.” Under this decision, the fee should not be based on the...more
Class action settlements can be structured in a variety of ways. Many include a common fund, consisting of an agreed-to amount the defendant deposits into a Qualified Settlement Fund, or “QSF,” a tax vehicle that facilitates...more
The author presented the following paper at the 2020 Class Actions National Institute of the American Bar Association. What makes mediating a class action different from mediating an individual case? In both settings,...more
For years, class action settlements typically have included incentive payments to named plaintiffs. The payments usually represent a very small percentage of the overall settlement payout, and are designed to compensate named...more