Yesterday, Cornerstone Research published its annual report titled Securities Class Action Settlements–2010 Review and Analysis. Among the findings in this year’s report: The number of approved securities class action settlements was at a 10-year low The total dollar value of settlements decreased 17% from 2009 to 2010, The median settlement amount was up 40%, but the average [...]
Archive for the ‘Class Action Settlements’ Category
Cornerstone Research Issues Annual Report on Securities Class Action Settlements
Posted in Class Action Settlements, Class Action Trends, Reports and Surveys, Securities Class Actions, tagged "plaintiff-style" damages, accounting principles, class action settlement, cornerstone research, institutional investor, pslra, reform act, securities class action, securities class action settlement on March 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The Seventh Circuit is Serious, All Writs Act Allows District Court to Enforce Collateral Estoppel Effect of its Class Certification Denial – Or – Don’t $%#& with Posner
Posted in class action reform, Class Action Settlements, Class Action Trends, tagged all writs act, blackmail settlement, class action abuse, class action reform, Class Action Settlements, collateral estoppel, posner, sears, sears class action, sears dryer, stainless, thorogood on December 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In a case rife with lessons, a lawyer learned another valuable one today: If you’re going to dish out the vitriol in your briefing with certain judges, be ready to be put in your place. The case of Thorogood v. Sears Roebuck & Co. is already famous for the suggestion made by plaintiffs’ counsel in oral [...]
Yet More on Cy Pres
Posted in Articles, class action reform, Class Action Settlements, tagged class action settlement, cy pres, reversion on December 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Cy pres awards continue to be a hot topic both in the news and in academia. The latest contribution comes from Columbia law student Sam Yospe, whose article entitled Cy Pres Distributions in Class Action Settlements (Columbia Business Law Review, forthcoming) examines judicial discretion in choosing cy pres awards and makes practical suggestions for reform. Yospe’s article [...]
More on Cy Pres
Posted in class action reform, Class Action Settlements, Class Action Trends, Commentary, tagged class action settlement, common fund, cy pres, payment to charity, reversion, settlement distribution on October 28, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Over the past week, I have received two separate requests for comment on cy pres awards to charity in class action settlements. Evidently it’s on readers’ minds, so I thought I’d give some thoughts on the subject here. Cy pres distributions to charity are one of several ways of dealing with a common problem in class action settlements: [...]
Incentive Awards OK, But Not Incentive Agreements
Posted in Class Action Decisions, Class Action Settlements, tagged 9th circuit, class action incentive, class action settlement, class settlement, incentive agreement, incentive award, incentive payment, ninth circuit on July 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
In an opinion entered in April in Rodriguez v. West Publishing Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stated its disapproval of the practice of plaintiffs’ counsel entering into incentive agreements with putative class representatives, which required their attorneys to seek successively higher payment in the event of class settlements in successively higher dollar amounts. The [...]
Dutch Class Action Settlement A Sign of Things to Come?
Posted in Class Action News, Class Action Settlements, Class Action Trends, International Class Action Law, tagged dutch class action, european class action law, foreign cubed, International Class Action Law, netherlands class action on June 1, 2009 | 3 Comments »
As reported by various news sources today and summarized in this entry from Ben Hallman at The Am Law Litigation Daily, a Dutch court has approved a settlement of claims of a class of institutional investors against Royal Dutch Shell. The settlement was approved under a 2005 Dutch law that allows collective settlements on an opt-out basis, although it [...]
And Now, for Something Completely Different…
Posted in Class Action News, Class Action Settlements, Human Rights Class Actions, tagged amnesty, human interest, immigration, immigration class action, immigration law on December 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
If you’re looking for a refreshing story about a class action settlement that isn’t all about money, the LA Times has a story for you. This article by Teresa Watanabe recounts the history of a series of class actions brought against the U.S. government to obtain amnesty for a classes of immigrants who came to the [...]


Long Live the Reversionary, “Claims-Made” Settlement
Posted in Class Action Settlements, Commentary, tagged claims made settlement, class action reform, class action settlement, cy pres, reversion, reversionary settlement on February 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The other day, a colleague tipped me off to a December 2009 blog posting by Oakland, California employment and civil rights attorney Bryan Schwartz entitled Death to the Reversionary, “Claims-Made” Settlement, a thoughtful, well-written article with which I completely disagree and to which I felt compelled to respond. Schwartz is critical of what he alternatively calls [...]
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