Unfair settlements generally serve self-interested lawyers and third parties at the expense of absent class members, the group of people whose rights are traded away to settle a class action. Lawyers have an interest in their fees, defendants have an interest in cheaply disposing of a lawsuit, and the class’ interests can take a back seat in the process. CCAF seeks to solve these problems by representing such class members pro bono and presenting judges with the other side of the argument. When CCAF prevails, lawyers get less, class members get more, and the rule of law is strengthened.
The New York Times says CCAF’s Ted Frank is “the leading critic of abusive class action settlements,” while Reuters called him a “class action maverick” and “among class action lawyers’ most feared objectors.”
Featured Posts
Reason
Photos Show the Transformation of Great Britain
Not so long ago, Great Britain was deemed “the sick man of Europe.” The 1970s were plagued by inflation, labor union strikes, and a rise…
News Release
CEI Disappointed in Outcome of Supreme Court Decision in Class Action Settlement Case, Frank v. Gaos, but Hopeful for Future Resolution
In Frank v. Gaos, a class action-related case initiated by former CEI attorneys, the U.S. Supreme Court today decided to send the case back to…
News Release
CEI Congratulates Ted Frank and CCAF on the Launch of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute
Since merging with CEI in 2015, the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) has continued the mission Ted Frank began nearly a decade ago. CCAF has…
Search Posts
Litigation
EasySaver Rewards Litigation
In 2013, CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness objected to and then appealed the approval of a nationwide class settlement where 0.2% of the class received…
Law360
Colgate-Palmolive Defends $2M Bid To End Hand Soap MDL
Law 360 discusses CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness’ case objecting to a $2 million Colgate settlement: Colgate-Palmolive Co. defended a proposed $2…
Litigation
Motor Fuel Temperature Sales Practices Litigation
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness appealed the approval of several settlements in multi-district litigation concerning the sale of motor fuel, which has been ongoing…
Compliance Insights
Citi Settles at $590Mn, So Lawyers Settle for 17%- Citi Objects
Compliance Insights discusses the case in which lawyers representing class members in a case against Citigroup, charge exorbitant fees and hourly rates. The…
Top Class Actions
Class Action Fariness Advocate Objects to Softsoap Class Action Settlement
Top Class Actions discusses CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness’ objection in the SoftSoap class action settlement: The objection was filed by objector…
Litigation
Walgreen Co. Stockholder Litigation
On November 5, 2015, the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) at CEI filed an objection to the unfair class action settlement in Hays v.
Blog
In re Capital One TCPA Litigation Seventh Circuit appeal
Litigation over whether Capital One and its affiliates violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act settled for $75.5 million—about $4 for each of the 17.5 million…
Blog
In re Online DVD Antitrust Litigation: adverse decision and en banc petition
You might recall the settlement approval in Online DVD Antitrust Litigation we briefed back in 2012. A district court held that the Wal-Mart $12.03…
Blog
Big cy pres victory in 8th Circuit: Oetting v. Green Jacobson
with new opinion from 8th Circ, @tedfrank continues to reshape fed. judicial policy on giving class money to charity http://t.co/D1Yy3BgJu9—…
Reuters
U.S. court voids payout of unclaimed funds in BofA class action
Reuters discusses Center for Class Action Fairness's victory in Oetting v. Green Jacobson PC, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 13-2620 Thursday's…
Forbes
Seventh Circuit Continues Scrutiny Of Class Action Settlements And ‘Cy Pres’
Forbes discusses the Center for Class Action Fairness’s objection in Pearson v. NBTY The Center for Class Action Fairness objected to the settlement…
Forbes
Judge Tosses Glucosamine Settlement
Forbes discusses the Center for Class Action Fairness’ case in Pearson v. NBTY Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals…
Blog
Cy Pres You’ll Read This
Learn about the state of cy pres law without having to pay for a CLE class! Today, Washington Legal Foundation published a short and useful…
Blog
Oral Argument in Pearson v. NBTY, Inc.
Are you trick-and/or-treating in downtown Chicago this Halloween? If so, visit the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to watch oral argument…
Blog
Opening Brief in Gascho v. Global Fitness Holdings
Candy corn, pumpkin pie, egg nog . . . no wonder that three months from now we’ll all be joining gyms. So let’s inaugurate the…
Wall Street PR
RadioShack Corporation’s (RSH) Class-Action Settlement Anulled By Federal Appeals Court
Wall Street PR reports on the case in which the Seventh Circuit court sided with CCAF's argument that plaintiffs' lawyer fees must be proportionate to…
Stockwise Daily
Federal Appeals Court Declares Radioshack Corporation (RSH) Class-Action Settlement Void
Stockwise Daily reports on the Redman v. RadioShack Corp. and mentions Center for Class Action Fairness' Ted Frank and his reponse to the outcome of the case.
Blog
Victory! Redman v. Radioshack
CCAF won a tremendous victory for class members in Redman v. Radioshack, just eleven days after oral argument! Judge Richard Posner, a legal authority renowned…
Reuters
U.S. court voids RadioShack class-action settlement over card receipts
Reuters interviews Center for Class Action Fairness' founder Ted Frank on federal appeals court's decision to void RadioShack Corporation's class-action settlement. Ted Frank,…
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
McClellan: Divvying Up $2.7 Million in Leftovers
Bill Mclellan describes Ted Frank's arguments in the Oetting v. Green Jacobson PC case. The big question was this: Why should money belonging…
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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.
Blog
Redman v. RadioShack, Inc. / oral argument today
As we discussed earlier, class counsel agreed to a settlement over RadioShack credit-card receipt legality that would have paid themselves $1 million, but the…
Blog
Ted Frank speaking in Trenton September 16
The New Jersey Civil Justice Institute is saying really nice things about my scheduled luncheon talk September 16 in Trenton. Come say hi if…
Blog
Oetting v. Green Jacobson / Oral argument September 10 in 8th Circuit on cy pres
Bank of America settled a nationwide securities class action in the E.D. Mo. for hundreds of millions of dollars. For some reason, the district court…
Blog
Laguna v. Coverall N.A.
Coverall N.A. settled a class action over janitorial franchises by paying a $1M attorney fee and setting up…
EMarkets Daily
Tech Stocks On Buy Recom
EMarkets Daily asks Center for Class Action Fairness' Ted Frank about the Google privacy case settlement. Google Inc’s resolution of a privacy court case…
Stockwise Daily
Lawyer: Google Inc. Settlement of Privacy Lawsuit Smells of Biasness
Stockwise Daily reports on the Google Inc. privacy lawsuit settlement and includes a quote from CCAF's Ted Frank for more details. It’s highly…
Bloomberg Business
Google Accord With Harvard Tie Fails Judge’s Smell Test
Bloomberg Business reports on Center for Class Action's argument in the In re Google Referrer Header Privacy case. Davila also heard today from…
Bloomberg View
Pennies for Plaintiffs, Millions for Lawyers
Bloomberg describes how the Center for Class Action Fairness challenge lawsuits that benefit the lawyers more than the plantiff's themselves, and briefly mentions the In…
Law 360
HP Inkjet Settlement Objectors Continue Fight To DQ Cotchett
Law 360 reports on CCAF's objection to the HP Inkjet settlement which did not benefit class members. Ted Frank of the Center for…
Market Watch
The mysterious case of Hewlett-Packard’s Autonomy deal
Market Watch details the H-P settlement case as it returns to court and CCAF's motion filed to diqualify the law firm working with H-P for conflict…
Law 360
HP Says Cotchett Deal No ‘Side Agreement’ To Settlement
Law 360 reports on the Center for Class Action Fairness' objection to the HP settlement. Objectors to the settlement moved last month to…
Courthouse News Service
Objection to Google’s $8.5M Privacy Deal
Courthouse News Service reports on the Center for Class Action Fairness' objection to a judge's ruling that Google should pay $8.5 million to settle the suit, because…
Politicker NJ
Objection! Clean Diapers & Dirty Class-Action Settlements
Politicker NJ describes the work of the Center for Class Action Fairness and the president Ted Frank in an event announcement. Since its…
Daily Online Examiner
Google’s Privacy Settlement With Vanity Searchers Draws Opposition
The Daily Online Examiner reports on the Center for Class Action Fairness' objection to Google's privacy class-action lawsuit settlement. The deal, which was…
Business Insider
A Watchdog Lawyer Is Raising Questions About HP’s Plans To Sue Former Autonomy Executives
Business Insider describes Ted Frank's efforts to object to the outcome of the HP class action settlement case in which lawyers received a high compensation…
Cook County Record
Judge Gives Preliminary OK to $75.5M Proposed Settlement in TCPA Class Action; Believed to be Largest of Its Kind
The Cook County Record discusses the Capital One class action lawsuit settlement with Ted Frank. Ted Frank, president and founder of Center for…
Law 360
Objectors Seek To DQ Cotchett Firm In HP Inkjet Settlement
Law 360 reports on CCAF's objection to the HP inkjet settlement. Objectors to a proposed settlement in a lawsuit accusing Hewlett-Packard Co. of…
New York Times
N.F.L. Makes Open-Ended Commitment to Retirees in Concussion Suit
The New York Times cites Ted Frank on the NFL concussion settlement case.
Blog
Allen v. Dairy Farmers of America
What happens when class counsel wants to settle and the class representatives do not? Rule 23(a)(4) and the Constitution require adequate class representation before individual…
Blog
Letter to Chicago Lawyer Magazine
To the editor: Your June 2014 article “Cy pres success” contains a material misstatement of the…
Blog
Eubank v. Pella Corporation (7th Cir. 2014)
Judge Posner writes a very interesting Seventh Circuit opinion reversing a settlement approval on multiple grounds. A lot of friends forwarded the decision to…
Reuters
A smoking gun in debate over consumer class actions?
Reuters reports on the Center for Class Action Fairness' case Frank V. Poertner. CCAF objected to a settlement of consumer fraud over Duracell batteries which granted…
Forbes
Odds Of A Payoff In Consumer Class Action? Less Than A Straight Flush
Forbes cites Ted Frank of CCAF on recent consumer class action case. An interesting piece of data just dropped into the official record in…
Blog
Opening brief in Redman v. RadioShack
RadioShack committed the sin of printing credit-card receipts with expiration dates on them, which exposed it to possible liability of $100 a receipt ($1000 if…
MacNN News
Appeals Court Kicks Back Apple Power Adapter Class-Action Settlement
MacNN News reports on an objection filed by the Center for Class Action Fairness which brings the Apple settlement case back to court to question the…
Blog
May 8 debate in Washington DC
I’ll be debating Professor Brian Fitzpatrick in Washington, DC, the morning of Thursday, May 8. Registration and details at the e21 site.
Blog
Ninth Circuit win in Apple MagSafe case
The Apple MagSafe settlement paid the attorneys $3.1 million, but the class less than a quarter of that, yet the district court rubber-stamped settlement approval…
Forbes
Ninth Circuit Chucks Apple MagSafe Settlement, Chides Judge’s Oversight
Forbes reports on the settlement of a class action against Apple which would have paid the lawyers $3 million but less than $1 million to…
Law 360
9th Circ. Vacates Apple Adapter Settlement Over Attys’ Fees
Law 360 reports on CCAF's objection to the Apple adapter settlement that was unfair to class members. Ted Frank of The Center for…
Law 360
Pella Window Deal Leaves Class In The Cold, 7th Circ. Told
Law 360 mentions Ted Frank's comments on whether the Pella Window settlement benefit class members. Theodore Frank, who represents a separate objector, added…
Blog
Wasserman on cy pres
University of Pittsburgh Law Professor Rhonda Wasserman has a paper on cy pres forthcoming in the USC Law Review, “Cy Pres in Class Action…
Blog
Opening brief in Pearson v. NBTY, Inc., No. 14-1198 (7th Cir.)
In a settlement of several class actions over the labeling of glucosamine supplements, class counsel settled for a claims process that paid the class under…
Blog
In re Apple MagSafe Power Adapter Litigation oral argument in the Ninth Circuit Tuesday
Class counsel collected $3.1 million in the Apple MagSafe Power Adapter Litigation, but their putative clients received less than $900,000, and perhaps even less than $500,000—the…
Blog
Interested in co-authoring a law review article?
I keep a list of law review articles I’d like to write. That list has grown to thirteen, ten of which are about class action…
Blog
“Muscle Milk Magnificence”
A former CCAF intern files an entertaining objection to a bad lawyer-driven settlement that doesn’t comply with Ninth Circuit Law, and Above the…
Class Action Countermeasures
Guest Post – The Opt-Out Refund
Class Action Countermeasures features Adam Shulman's and his solution for settlements called the "Opt Out Refund." Adam Schulman of the Center for Class Action Fairness…
Blog
Wherein thousands of insomniacs watching C-SPAN learn my thoughts about class action settlements
Ninety minutes of panel discussion about class-action-settlement conflicts of interest? Who could possibly resist?…
Law 360
Netflix-Walmart Deal Hurt Competition, 9th Circ. Hears
Law 360 reports on the objection to the Netflix-Wal-Mart Settlement in which Ted Frank claims that the settlement was not fair for class members.
Blog
Abusive appeal bonds
Over at Public Citizen’s blog, Scott Michelman posts about the attempt by class attorneys in the Facebook Sponsored Stories settlement to impose $32,000 appeal…
Class Defense Blog
Justice Alito Addresses A Federal District Judge’s Policy Of Requiring Race- and Gender-Conscious Selection of Class Counsel
Class Defense Blog discusses Ted Frank's objections to the staffing race and gender requirements for the class' counsel in the case Martin v. Blessings. One…
Blog
Urban Active Fitness class action settlement
The class in Gascho v. Global Fitness Holdings LLC, Case No. 2:11-cv-436 (S.D. Ohio), consists of the 606,246 individuals who signed a gym membership or…
Wall Street Journal
Justice Alito Slams Judge for Imposing Race Requirements
The Wall Street Journal discusses a judge who imposed race and gender staffing requirements for law firms representing clients in class action lawsuits. Ted Frank discusses the…
Wall Street Journal
How Lawsuits Fund Lobbyists
The Wall Street Journal discusses how privacy groups that file class-action lawsuits against companies such as Facebook are the real benificiaries, while users may recieve…
Reuters
How to end pointless class actions, redux
Reuters reports on L'Oreal's class action settlement and the Center for Class Action's objection to the large fees paid to the lawyers and monetary damages to the…
Blog
November 4 Press Release
US SUPREME COURT DENIES FACEBOOK USERS CY PRES SETTLEMENT CHALLENGE OPPORTUNITY OPENS DOOR FOR FUTURE CHALLENGES WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US Supreme…
San Francisco Chronicle
Facebook Prviacy Deal OKd With Justice’s Warning
The San Francisco Chronicle discusses the issue of class-action suits where attorneys get large fees and users are left with little. Center for Class Action…
Law 360
Chief Justice Roberts Turns Up The Heat On Cy Pres Pacts
Law 360 reports on Justice Roberts' comments on the issue of cy pres settlements which Center for Class Action Fairness objected to in the Facebook…
Law 360
Justices Won’t Touch Facebook’s $9.5M ‘Beacon’ Privacy Deal
Law 360 reports on teh case where Cheif Justice Roberts agreed with Center for Class Action Fairness that the problem of cy pres solutions for…
Blog
October 15
Tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will announce orders relating to two cert petitions we filed (with substantial and critically necessary pro bono assistance) that it…
Blog
Marek v. Lane cert petition in the Wall Street Journal
In The Wall Street Journal, David Rivkin and Lee Casey write about Marek v. Lane, arguing that it’s time to end class-action settlements…
National Review
Public Citizen’s Unfair Attack on Arbitration
The National Review discusses with Ted Frank how class action suits benefit the lawyers rather than the class member. In reality, as Ted…
Blog
Mid-September update
Procter & Gamble (but not the plaintiffs) filed an en banc petition seeking further review of the 2-1 decision striking down the ludicrous attorney-benefit-only settlement…
Blog
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines coupon settlement
At first glance, the Korean Air Passenger Settlement looks pretty good: $50 million in cash for class members. You have to dive very deep…
Blog
August and September update
We’ve been very busy! In Fraley v. Facebook, the district court adopted our theory of attorneys’ fees (zero value for injunctive relief and…
Reuters
No circuit split on charity-only settlements: Facebook, Public Citizen
Reuters discusses CCAF's case which objects to a settlement from a class action lawsuit against Facebook. In a brief filed Thursday with the Supreme Court,…
Reuters
Diamond, Shareholders Reach Unusual Deal: Class to Receive Stock
Reuters reports on the Diamond Foods class action settlement that is compensating millions of dollars in shares. Reuters asks Ted Frank to share his insights…
ABA Journal
Facebook Settlement That Awarded Zilch to Class Members is Challenged in Cert Petition
ABA Journal discusses Center for Class Action's objection to the Facebook privacy settlement because it does not benefit absentee class members or guaruntee that it…
Blog
CCAF in today’s New York Times
The Adam Liptak article also generously cites my Congressional testimony on cy pres. Earlier: Marek v. Lane; Dry Max Pampers.
New York Times
When Lawyers Cut Their Clients Out of the Deal
The New York Times reports on Ted Frank's objection to the Facebook privacy settlement. The leading critic of abusive class-action settlements is Ted…
Blog
Some updates
The Ninth Circuit rejected en banc review of our victory in HP Inkjet. Here, for the record, is our successful opposition to the…
Blog
Sixth Circuit victory: In re Dry Max Pampers Litigation
A great opinion protecting class members against predatory attorneys. Congratulations to CCAF attorney Adam Schulman (Georgetown Law ’10), who won his first appellate oral…
ABA Journal
Diaper deal that gave $2.73M to lawyers, one-box refund to customers is nixed by 6th Circuit
ABA Journal details the class action settlement against Proctor & Gamble, which the Center for Class Action Fairness objected to, and was later overturned. A…
The Wall Street Journal
Appeals Court Says Legal Fees in Diaper Suit are Ir-rashional
The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog discusses the Center for Class Action Fairness' In re Dry Max Papers Litigation case. A U.S. appeals…
Law 360
Lessons From CCAF On Designing Class Action Settlements
Law 360 reports on Center for Class Action Fairness' win in the In re Dry Max Pampers case. The recent decision by the…
Cincinnati Business Courier
P&G’s diaper rash settlement flushed by court
The Cincinnati Business Courier describes the In re Dry Max Pampers Litigations case and Center for Class Action Fairness' objection to the Proctor & Gamble…
Cincinnati Business Courier
P&G’s diaper rash settlement flushed by court
The Cincinnati Business Courier discusses with Ted Frank why the Center for Class Action Fairness is challenging a settlement which paid large sums to the…
Forbes
Appeals Court Flushes Papers Settlement That Paid Lawyers $2.73 Million, Clients Zero
Forbes discusses Center for Class Action Fairness' case objecting to the Procter & Gamble settlement that benefited the plaintiffs' lawyers far more than the class members they…
Blog
$26.7 million victory for CCAF in Citigroup Securities case
Details at Point of Law.
Overlawyered
Big Ted Frank victory on attorney fee markups
Overlawyered features Ted Frank's victory on behalf of class members in a case objecting to a Citigroup settlement. Longtime Overlawyered blogger Ted Frank…
Reuters
Judge approves Citigroup $590 million settlement
Reuters reports on Center for Class Action Fairness' victory in the case In re: Citigroup Inc Securities Litigation. A federal judge gave final…
Forbes
Judge Cuts Fees In Citigroup Settlement, Citing `Waste And Inefficiency’
Forbes reports on Center for Class Action Fairness' In re Citigroup Inc. Securities Litigation case. A federal judge approved a $590 million settlement…
Wall Street Jourtnal
Judge: Plaintiff’s Firms Inflated Contract Lawyer Rates
The Wall Street Journal reports how Judge Stein sided with Ted Frank's argument that lawyers in class action lawsuits place large markups on their frees.
Law 360
Facebook User Pushes High Court To Nix ‘Beacon’ Pact
Law 360 reports on CCAF's work to challenge cy pres awards which do not benefit class members in their objection to the Facebook privacy settlement.
Blog
Our first cert petition, challenging Facebook Beacon cy pres settlement
We weren’t involved in the 2-1 Lane v. Facebook cy pres decision disadvantaging consumers, and jumped at the…
Bloomberg BNA
Google Agrees to Pay $8.5 Million to Settle Claims It Disclosed Internet Search Queries
Bloomberg BNA discusses Center for Class Action Fairness' case In re Google Referrer Header Privacy Litigation. Google Inc. has agreed to establish an…
Reuters
Class Action Activist asks SCOTUS to Review Charity-Only Settlements
Reuters reports on Ted Frank and the Center for Class Action Fairness' move to bring the Facebook Beacon case to the Supreame Court to object the…
Legal Newsline
Federal Judge Closes Portion of Garlock Bankruptcy Trial
Legal Newsline quotes Ted Frank on the Garlock Sealing Technologies bankruptcy trial. "The closure violates the Bankruptcy Code's provisions for public access, and…
Daily Online Examiner
Facebook User Wants The Supreme Court To Nix Beacon Settlement
The Daily Online Examiner details the Center for Class Action Fairness' objections to the Facebook privacy settlement which did not benefit class members and set…
Blog
Redman v. Radio Shack
Redman v. Radio Shack Corp., No. 11-cv-06741 (N.D. Ill.) is a class action alleging a right to statutory recovery for Radio Shack’s practice of…