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.”
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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…
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Blog
5 Scariest Halloween Regulations
Regulatory dark matter is a Washington boogeyman. In 2015, there were 39 regulations for every one law passed by Congress. That’s a lot of rules…
Legal NewsLine
State AGs ask U.S. SC to review lawyer payout in class action settlement
Legal NewsLine reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's challenge to a class action settlement which over a dozen state attorneys general asked the Supreme…
Legal NewsLine
Federal judge approves $14.7 billion settlement in Volkswagen emissions class actions
Legal Newsline discusses Center for Class Action Fairness's reaction to the Volkswagen class action settlement ruling. The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class…
Blog
Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Settlement Prioritizes Attorneys’ Interests Over Harmed Consumers
Today the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved a settlement in the Volkswagen Clean Diesel MDL that puts the interests of…
Reuters
In approving VW deal, Judge Breyer dispatches with fee objections
Reuters reports on CEI's objection to the Volkswagen emissions settlement that was a bad deal for class members. The most provocative objection to…
News Release
Volkswagen Class Action Ruling: Bad Deal for Consumers
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness is disappointed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s approval today of the Volkswagen class action settlement because…
Cato At Liberty
Courts Should Stop Approving Unfair Class Action Settlements
Cato At Liberty discusses the issues in CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness’s case Blackman v. Gascho. Class actions play a vital role…
Bloomberg
VW Judge Says He ‘Strongly’ Favors $14.7 Billion Settlement
Bloomberg discusses Center for Class Action Fairness's objection to the Volkswagen emissions settlement with Anna St. John. Anna St. John, an attorney opposing the…
The Recorder
Final Approval Near in $14.7 Billion VW Emissions Accord, Judge Says
The Recorder reports on Center for Class Action Fairness's objection to the Volkswagen emissions settlement. More than a dozen objectors or their lawyers…
News Release
CEI Argues Volkswagen Settlement Provides Zero Benefits to Consumers
Today, Competitive Enterprise Institute Attorney Anna St. John argued the shortcomings of the Volkswagen class action settlement, a result of the 2015 emissions scandal,…
Reuters
Class counsel in VW clean diesel case: Without us, no government deal
Reuters speaks with Ted Frank on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection to the Volkswagen emissions settlement. The class settlement, which would…
Bloomberg BNA
Not Everyone is Happy with the $14.7 Billion Volkswagen Settlement
Bloomberg BNA reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection to the Volkswagen emissions settlement. In August, the attorneys who represented the…
Bloomberg Law
Not Everyone is a Fan of the $14.7 Billion VW Settlement
Bloomberg Law reports on the Volkswagen emissions settlement and CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection to the settlement. A proposed $14.7 billion…
Talk Media News
57 illegal aliens nabbed at Texas stash house, Improbable crime rate study
Talk Media News reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection a proposed class action settlement from the Volkswagen emisisons scandal. The…
The Daily Caller
Think Tank Claims Attorneys Bilked VW Claimants Out Of Hundreds Of Millions
The Daily Caller reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection to the Volkswagen emissions settlement. Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed an…
News Release
CEI Seeks Supreme Court Review of Unfair Lawyer Payout in Global Fitness Class Action Settlement
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a challenge to a lopsided class action settlement agreement that leaves…
Reuters
In objection to $14 billion VW deal, Ted Frank claims class lawyers breached duty
Reuters reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection to the proposed Volkswagen emissions settlement. Reporter Alison Frankel calls CCAF's Ted Frank a "class…
E&E News
Conservative group says settlement shortchanges consumers
E&E News reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection to the proposed class-action settlement over the Volkswagen emissions scandal. In a…
Los Angeles Times
If a law has a first name, that’s a bad sign
Donald Trump claims to be running for president as an outsider. But his campaign has resorted to one of the oldest tricks in the book…
Bloomberg BNA
Should Late Shopping of Class Settlements Draw Sanctions?
Bloomberg BNA reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's involvement in an insurance class action settlement. Attorneys for both sides have appealed…
News Release
CEI Objects to Abusive Volkswagen Settlement at Center of Emissions Scandal
On Friday evening, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI) Center for Class Action Fairness asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California…
Legal Brief
Amicus Brief: In Re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation
Full Document Available in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness filed an amicus brief before the U.S. District Court…
Litigation
Volkswagen ʺClean Dieselʺ Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation
On September 16, 2016, CEI filed an objection on behalf of a class member to the proposed settlement in In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices,…
Real Clear Policy
Footlong Subs and Other Frivolous Lawsuits
You may have heard about the attorney who sued his dry cleaner for $67 million for losing his pants, or the movie-goer who…
Forbes
Banner Ads Are A Joke In The Real World, But Not In Class-Action Land
Forbes discusses lawyers' use of questionable Internet marketing techniques to get notice of class-action settlements out to clients with Ted Frank. “Everybody knows these notice schemes…
Reuters
Subway ‘Footlong’ settlement gets appeals court grilling
Reuters reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fariness's hearing in their objection to the Subway "footlong" settlement. A federal appeals court on Thursday…
Legal Tribune Online
Anwalt geht gegen Vergleich im Subway-Prozess vor
CEI's Center for Class Action Director Ted Frank was cited by a German legal magazine regarding Frank's objection to a class action settlement involving Subway’s…
Consumerist
Judges In Subway “Foot-Long Fraud” Appeal Ask Why Case Wasn’t Thrown Out Long Ago
Consumerist discusses the Center for Class Action Fairness’ appeal in the Subway Footlong settlement: In February, noted class action critic — and Subway…
Wall Street Journal
Subway ‘Footlong’ Case Goes Before Federal Appeals Court
The Wall Street Journal reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's hearing in their objection to a Subway class-action settlement. The recent controversy…
News Release
Customer Appeals Fat Reward for Lawyers in Subway Footlong Settlement
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness today argued in court against a class action settlement involving Subway’s “footlong” sandwiches. The settlement awards…
Daily Caller
Study: Recent Labor Regulations Slowly Coming Into Focus, And It Doesn’t Look Good For Small Business
The Daily Caller highlights Iain Murray's report on the chaning nature of work and labor regulations that threaten worker flexibility. Government regulators are “imposing…
News Release
$2.3 Million Returns to Class Members after CEI Opposes Cy Pres Distribution in Wal-Mart Online DVD Settlement
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness won a victory for consumers when a court in the Northern District of California entered…
Blog
Settlement Insurance Shows Need for Court Skepticism in Class Actions
A plaintiffs’ attorney and an insurance executive have created a business, Risk Settlements, that offers a “post-lawsuit settlement insurance product specifically designed to manage settlement…
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Class-suit watchdog seeks role in appeal
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette discusses CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's challenge of an unfair class action settlement with Ted Frank. A Washington lawyer known for attacking…
Reuters
Plaintiffs drop proposed Pepco disclosure-only settlement after objector surfaces
Reuters reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection of a Pepco Settlement and discusses the case with CEI lawyer Anna St. John. …
Reuters
Plaintiffs drop proposed Pepco disclosure-only settlement after objector surfaces
Reuters reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection of a Pepco Settlement and discusses the case with CEI lawyer Anna St. John. …
New Jersey Civil Justice Institute
Court Cracks Down On Attorneys Lining Their Pockets Under the Guise of Protecting the Little Guy
New Jersey Civil Justice Institute discusses with Ted Frank the recent Center for Class Action Fairness's victory in their objection to a proposed settlement.
Bloomberg BNA
Disclosure-Only Settlement Over Walgreens Boots Deal Nixed
Bloomberg BNA reports on CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's win in their objection against a settlement that granted huge attorneys fees but left class…
Legal Newsline
Federal court rejects proposed class action settlement in Similasan case
Legal Newsline reports on CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness’s objection to the Similasan class action settlement. To fight the settlement, Arizona, Texas…
Wall Street Journal
Posner vs. the Plaintiffs Bar
One of life’s more bracing experiences is being on the receiving end of an opinion by federal Judge Richard Posner, and this week it couldn’t…
News-Gazette
Appellate Judge Sends Lawyers’ Windfall up in Smoke
The News-Gazette covers CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness’ Walgreens case: It’s a textbook example of a legal shakedown conducted by lawyers who…
Blog
Landmark Ruling for Shareholders in Walgreens Class Action Lawsuit
Just weeks before the shareholder vote on Walgreens’ $4.8 billion merger with a European pharmacy, Walgreens got slapped with a class action lawsuit claiming that…
News Release
CEI Settlement Objection Prevails in Similasan Corp. Case
The U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California rejected a settlement in Allen v. Similasan, keeping class attorneys from a $545,000 payday while…
Legal NewsLine
Calif. federal court rejects settlement in class action over company’s homeopathic products
Legal NewsLine reports on CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness’s objection to the Similasan class action settlement. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a non-profit…
Reuters
Judge in $590 mln Citigroup accord says ‘next best’ not needed for cy pres
Reuters Legal reports on a judge's ruling in CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness's objection of an unfair class action settlement with Ted Frank. …
News Release
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness Wins Fight Against Worthless Settlement Deal in Walgreen-Boots Merger
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness won its challenge to a class action settlement deal related to the merger between Walgreens…
Cook County Record
Seventh Circuit: Walgreens, Shareholder Settlement Little More than $370K Payday for Lawyers
The Cook County Record discusses CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness’ case in the Walgreens Co. Stockholder Litigation: In the proposed settlement to…
Law360
3 Nonprofits Can Get $590M Citigroup Deal Leftovers
Law360 discusses the Center for Class Action Fairness’ Citigroup case: A New York federal judge on Tuesday affirmed his previous decision that the…
Law.com
Advocates Take Shots at VW Emissions Accord
Law.com reports on CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness’s critique of the Volkswagen emissions settlement which CEI’s William Yeatman also discusses. In one…
Blog
A Tale of Two Settlements: The Virtue of Being Adversarial in Class Action Lawsuits
Ascena is the corporate owner of the Justice brand clothing franchise, which caters to pre-adolescent girls in 900 stores throughout the country. (If you’ve ever…