In Lowery v. Rhapsody International, Inc., —F.4th—, 2023 WL 3857499 (June 7, 2023), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed an award of attorneys’ fees to class counsel that was more than thirty times the amount the class members received.Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Reverses Award of Attorneys’ Fees More than 30 Times Greater than Amount Received by Class Members

On a question of first impression in the Fourth Circuit, McAdams v. Robinson, 2022 WL 401806 (4th Cir. Feb. 10, 2022) concluded that absent class members[1] objecting to a magistrate judge’s jurisdiction over settlement are not “parties” under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).  So a magistrate judge does not need the consent of an absent class member to rule on settlement.
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Upholds Class Settlement Despite Absent Class Member’s Objections to Notice, Fees, and Scope of Release

Recently, in the Matter of Navistar MaxxForce Engines Mktg., Sales Practices, & Prod. Liab. Litig. (“Navistar”), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals was asked to adopt the “reasonable indication” approach, which would allow class members to opt out of a class based on any reasonable indication of their desire to exclude themselves.  Finding the

A number of changes to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 took effect on December 1, 2018. They’ve been in the works for some time, so no surprises, but now is a good time to summarize them.  The changes deal primarily with class settlements and objections:

Rule 23(c)

Rule 23(c)(2)(B), which deals with class notice, has