DOJ Interest in Wine, Opioids Casts Shadow Over Class Suits

Bloomberg Law discusses how government scrutiny could lead to tighter class action settlements: 

But Edelson, who readily describes himself as being a contrarian among plaintiffs’ attorneys, said the move could be good for consumers in the long-run.

Increased scrutiny from the DOJ “puts pressure on class counsel to come up with better settlements, and it actually puts pressure on defendants as well to stop offering what I view as really junky settlements,” Edelson said.

Edelson said his firm has told defendants for a long time it won’t even consider settlements where the class gets no money or only coupons. Those are red flags that catch the eye of good-faith objectors like Ted Frank of the Competitive Enterprise Institute Center for Class Action Fairness in Washington, Edelson said.

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