McClellan: Divvying up $2.7 million in leftovers

St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses the class action case in which Ted Frank defends David Oetting arguing that the settlement money should be returned to the stockholders.

Appearing on behalf of Oetting was Ted Frank, a conservative activist who runs a nonprofit law firm that specializes in objecting to class-action settlements. Appearing on behalf of the settlement was Joe Jacobson of Green Jacobson.

Frank did not argue that Legal Services is not a great organization. He argued that if the judge and the lawyers want to give it money, they should give it their own. And if they insist on giving other people’s money away, it ought to be something more “cy pres.” He suggested the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Fair Funds for Investors,” which helps investors who have been bilked.

I thought the three judges seemed more sympathetic to Frank’s argument than to Jacobson's defenses, which were legalistic rather than philosophical.

Of course, the case is a long way from over no matter how the panel rules. Appeals are possible, if not probable. Legal Services of Eastern Missouri has agreed not to spend the money while the case is pending.

 

Read the full article at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.