Settlements (CHAPTER 8), in A Practitioner's Guide to Class Action Litigation (Marcy Greer, ed., American Bar Association 3d ed. 2021).

Abstract

This comprehnsive chapter on class action settlements, updated in 2021 to encompass the 2018 changes to Rule 23 realting to class settlements, canvasses the jurisprudence and theory relating to class action settlements. The chapter discusses: a comparative assessmen of the role of settlements in ordinary litigation and the class action context; the historical development of the settlement class concept; due process requirements fo the binding effectes of settlement class ordrs and the possibility for subsequent collateral attack against settlements; possible types of settlement class; ethical issues in class action settlements and potential abuses (ethical challenges raised by attorney fee agreements; ethical problems raised by coupon settlements; thical problems raised by incentive awards to class representatives; ethical problems raised by intra-class conflicts of interest; ethical problems relating to limitations on the right to practice; overview of the settlement process and the actors involved (role of class and defense counsel; class representatives; judicial magistrates, special masters and court-appointed mediators; the presiding judge; objectors; government agencies; commercial notice and claims administrators; expert witnesses); substantive terms of a settlement; judicial approval of settlements; factors courts apply in judicial settlements; presumption of fairness of settlemen; appeal of settlement approval orders; the Class Action Fainress Act and its relationship to settlements; trends and unresolved issues in settlements (cy pres aards; pick-off settlement offers; negotiation classes).