Consumers frequently receive only a paltry fraction of class action settlement funds, which are instead doled out to plaintiffs’ lawyers, cy pres recipients, and administrators. Now this problem is compounded by a recent...more
Check out our April Elder Law and Special Needs newsletter! Our legal team explores important topics including beneficiary designations and the recent updates to the Medicaid divisor, which came into effect this month....more
The recent Appellate Division decision, In the Matter of the Estate of Heinecke, serves as an important warning to those who have named charitable organizations as beneficiaries in their Last Will and Testament. The case...more
When considering how to make a substantial gift to a charitable corporation, one should not rule out making it indirectly via assignment to an independent trustee. First, an independent trusteeship facilitates proper asset...more
When you finally reach an agreement to settle a hotly contested class action, you want more than anything for the court to approve your settlement agreement and for the case to be over. But, to get to the end of the case,...more
Recently, in SEC v. Spartan Securities Group, Ltd, et al., a Florida federal court held that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) could seek disgorgement and direct funds to the Treasury because the defrauded...more
The term cy pres comes from the Norman French expression “cy près comme possible,” which means “as near as possible.” As part of a class action settlement, parties frequently establish a cy pres fund as a method of dealing...more
Cy pres-only class action settlements are alive and well in the Ninth Circuit, where a unanimous panel of the court recently affirmed a settlement that provides no monetary relief whatsoever to the class, but awarded millions...more
Class action settlements in consumer fraud cases have generated significant controversy in recent years. Critics opine that these settlements primarily benefit lawyers, and that class members have often suffered little or no...more
Florida residents spend time and energy to ensure their wishes are carried out after death by preparing a will or trust through the assistance of an estate lawyer. Sometimes, their wishes include donating money, land, or...more
In a case strikingly similar to a case that had been before the Supreme Court last term and that involves the same defendant and the same well-traveled objector, a unanimous panel of the Third Circuit vacated and remanded a...more
On July 17, 2019, the Law Commission of Ontario released the final report of its class action investigative project, Class Actions: Objectives, Experiences and Reforms. The project is the most comprehensive research,...more
Cy pres distribution of residual settlement funds has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Perhaps for this reason, the Florida Supreme Court on May 16, 2019, refused to approve an amendment to Florida Rule of Civil...more
In 2016, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins, holding that even when Congress has granted parties a statutory right, a procedural violation of that right will not by itself satisfy the “concrete...more
In Frank v. Gaos, the Supreme Court appeared poised to decide a divisive class action issue: whether settlement awards to third-party charities (known as cy pres awards) are valid. On March 20, however, an 8-1 majority...more
In 2016, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion addressing Article III standing under the U.S. Constitution. See Spokeo v. Robins, ––– U.S. ––––, 136 S. Ct. 1540, 194 L.Ed.2d 635 (2016). The “standing to...more
We have been following the Frank v. Gaos, 586 U. S. __ (2019) class action case, which presented an opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to determine the limits on the use of the cy pres doctrine in the context of class...more
In Frank v. Gaos, plaintiff Paloma Goas brought a class action alleging that Google’s transmission of users’ search terms violated the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2701, et seq. (“SCA”). The SCA creates a private...more
As we predicted in a January 2019 post [Cy pres-only class settlements – anticipated Supreme Court decision may never come to pass], the United States Supreme Court, in a closely-watched case, declined to rule on the fairness...more
In a recent per curiam decision, the US Supreme Court forcefully held that even where parties agree to settle a putative class action seeking statutory penalties, the named plaintiff must satisfy Spokeo’s injury-in-fact...more
• On March 20, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded a case involving the use of cy pres in lieu of specific relief to individual class members in a proposed settlement for a determination of whether the plaintiffs had...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday remanded a class action against Google so that the lower courts could determine whether any of the named plaintiffs have standing under Spokeo, Inc. v. Robbins. The underlying suit...more
The Supreme Court recently issued an opinion concerning the requirements for Article III standing for statutory violations under the Stored Communications Act (SCA). ...more
The federal rules of civil procedure require that class action settlements be “fair, reasonable, and adequate.” In Frank v. Gaos, No. 17-961, the U.S. Supreme Court was expected to decide whether a district court properly...more
The United States Supreme Court on March 20, 2019 remanded an $8.5 million settlement in a class action against Google to the Ninth Circuit so that the lower court could evaluate standing under the Supreme Court’s 2016 Spokeo...more