D.C. Circuit Upholds $3.4B Native American Class Settlement

Legal Times reports on Ted Frank's objection to a settlement that was not distributed fairly to the class members, especially those who were injured the most.

Theodore Frank of the Center for Class Action Fairness, in Washington, who challenged the merits of the settlement, said "we're evaluating our options, and consulting with Indian tribes."

Frank, representing a class member named Kimberly Craven, said a conflict among class members undermines, as the D.C. put it, the “commonality, cohesiveness and fairness” of the deal.

Frank said in court papers in the D.C. Circuit that the $3.4 billion settlement “flunked the requirement of intraclass equity.”

Frank argued, among other things, that class members don’t equally benefit from the $1,000 payment. Some class members, he said, stand to gain more from the payment than their claims are actually worth. Others in the class would not receive a large enough payment.

The settlement, Frank said in court papers, “provided windfalls for many class members who suffered little or no harm, but fell far short of compensating class members” who have suffered the greatest injuries.

Read the full article at the Legal Times.