We reported last week on the interesting Sixth Circuit decision that rejected the class action settlement that provided no monetary relief to the class but almost $3 million in attorney’s fees to class counsel. Cases like this are not unique, and they are starting to attract national attention. In a recent article in the New York Times, Adam Liptak reported on a similar settlement on behalf of a class of Facebook users that did not provide any significant relief to the class but the plaintiff’s lawyers were to pocket nearly $2.3 million. The article then compares that situation with the recent Sixth Circuit decision, essentially questioning whether courts will now view such settlements with a jaundiced eye. The article notes that the Facebook case, from the Ninth Circuit, is currently seeking Supreme Court review. This issue may be a difficult one to frame for cert, but certainly the big picture question – the viability of these types of settlement – is an issue in which both plaintiffs and defendants are vitally interested.
