U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Google Privacy Settlement Dispute
Reuters discusses Frank v. Gaos, our case before the Supreme Court that could impact cy pres settlements.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an Internet privacy case involving Google that could put the brakes on an increasingly common form of settlement in class action suits that funnels money to unrelated third parties and charities instead of to people affected by the alleged wrongdoing.
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The settlement awarded most of the money to universities and organizations that promote internet privacy but nothing to the millions of Google users who the plaintiffs were to have represented in the class action.
The deal’s opponents were led by Ted Frank, director of litigation for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based conservative think tank. They said the deal violated procedural rules in U.S. law requiring settlements to be fair, reasonable and adequate.