EDITORIAL: Judges Toss Out Settlement in Subway Foot-long Shakedown

Las Vegas Review-Journal covers the Subway ‘footlong’ settlement.

Judges are the key to combating lawsuit abuse. Too often, however, they indulge the worst instincts of the trial bar. That’s why a federal appeals court decision last week should be must reading for jurists tempted to tolerate ridiculous civil claims.

On Friday, a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out a settlement in a lawsuit alleging that Subway’s foot-long sandwich didn’t always measure up. The legal action was a thinly veiled shakedown intended to line the pockets of a handful of plaintiffs’ attorneys.

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Unbeknownst to the money-grubbing attorneys, however, Theodore Frank of the Competitive Enterprise Institute had signed on as a member of the aggrieved class. Mr. Frank is a “long-time critic of the class-action system,” the Journal notes. He objected to the terms of the settlement, forcing a judicial review.

He found a strong ally in the 7th Circuit. “A class settlement that results in fees for class counsel but yields no meaningful relief for the class is no better than a racket,” wrote Judge Diane Sykes for the unanimous panel.

Read the full article at Las Vegas Review-Journal.