CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) represents class members against unfair class action procedures and settlements. Originally founded by Ted Frank in 2009, CCAF has won millions of dollars for consumers and shareholders, and won landmark precedents that safeguard investors, courts, and the general public.

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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Litigation

True v. American Honda Motor Company

  • 749 F. Supp. 2d 1052 (C.D. Cal. 2010).
  • Court Level: District

The Center for Class Action Fariness’s client objected to this settlement over fuel-economy advertising because plaintiffs’ lawyers sought nearly $3M for themselves and merely coupons…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

TD Ameritrade Accountholder Litigation

  • 266 F.R.D. 418 (N.D. Cal. 2009)
  • Court Level: District

In this settlement over a data security breach, plaintiffs’ lawyers were seeking $1.87M for themselves and only vouchers for the class: the district court upheld…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Sobel v. Hertz Corporation

  • No. 3:06-CV-00545-LRH-RAM, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68984 (D. Nev. Jun. 27, 2011)
  • Court Level: District

The Center’s client objected to this settlement over car rental fees wherein plaintiffs’ lawyers sought $1.5M for themselves but only coupons for the class; the…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Lonardo v. Travelers Indemnity Company

  • 706 F. Supp. 2d 766 (N.D. Ohio 2010)
  • Court Level: District

In this settlement over insurance pricing, the Center’s client objected that plaintiffs’ lawyers sought $6.6M when the class would only receive $2.8M; in response, the…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Classmates.com Consolidated Litigation

  • No. 09-cv-0045-RAJ, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83480 (W.D. Wash Jun. 15, 2012)
  • Court Level: District

The Center’s client objected to a settlement over deceptive advertising that promised over $1M to plaintiffs’ lawyers and about $100,000 to the class. The court…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Robert F. Booth Trust v. Crowley

  • 687 F.3d 314 (7th Cir. 2012)
  • Court Level: Appellate

The Center objected to this shareholder-derivative settlement offering no value to shareholders and $925,000 to plaintiffs’ lawyers. The district court denied the Center’s motion to intervene,…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Nachshin v. AOL, LLC

  • 663 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2011)
  • Court Level: Appellate

This settlement over email advertising inappropriately channeled settlement funds to third parties unrelated to the class. The Ninth Circuit sustained the Center’s objection and reversed…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

In re Google Referrer Header Privacy Litigation

  • No. 15-15858 (9th Cir.), appeal from No. 10-cv-04809-EJD (N.D. Cal.)
  • Court Level: Appellate

In the original case, Gaos v. Google, plaintiffs sued Google seeking trillions of dollars in statutory damages for alleged federal privacy violations over their search…

CEI Litigation

Litigation

Berry v. LexisNexis

  • No. 14-2006 (4th Cir.), appeal from 11-cv-754 (JRS) (E.D. Va.)
  • Court Level: Appellate

CEI appealed the district court’s approval of a settlement over data marketing practices, from which class members cannot even opt out, and under which class…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Frank v. Poertner

  • Court Level: Appellate

CCAF objected in Poertner v. Gillette Co., a settlement of consumer fraud claims over Duracell batteries where the attorneys received $5.7 million and the class…

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Litigation

Southwest Airlines Voucher Litigation

  • No. 13-3264, 799 F. 3d 701 (7th Cir. 2015), appeal from No. 11-cv-8176 (N.D. Ill.)
  • Court Level: District

The Center’s client objected to a settlement over Southwest drink coupons given to “Business Select” passengers as a perk. Thanks to the Center’s involvement in…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Fraley v. Facebook

  • No.14-15595 (9th Cir.), appeal from No. 11-cv-01726 (RS) (N.D. Cal.)
  • Court Level: District

Fraley, et al. v. Facebook, Inc., et al. was a class action lawsuit against Facebook in 2011 alleging the company used Facebook users’ names, pictures, and identities without…

CEI Litigation

Litigation

Blackman v. Gascho

  • Court Level: Supreme Court

In Blackman v. Gascho, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sought Supreme Court review for a challenge to a lopsided class action settlement agreement that left…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Martin v. Blessing

  • No. 13-169, 134 S. Ct. 402 (2013)
  • Court Level: Supreme Court

The Center initially objected to this settlement because, among other problems, its value to class members did not justify the $13M attorneys’ fees request.  Ultimately,…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Marek v. Lane

  • No. 13-136, 134 S. Ct. 8 (2013)
  • Court Level: Supreme Court

The Center was retained to petition the Supreme Court for review of a settlement that gave $0 for the class, $3.2M to the attorneys, and…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Baby Products Antitrust Litigation

  • 708 F.3d 163 (3d Cir. 2013)
  • Court Level: Appellate

This case involved a settlement of consolidated antitrust class actions brought by consumers against retailers Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us and several baby product…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

HP Inkjet Printer Litigation

  • 716 F.3d 1173 (9th Cir. 2013)
  • Court Level: District

The Ninth Circuit held that the Class Action Fairness Act requires that when class members obtain coupons in a settlement, the lawyers’ fees attributable to those…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Dry Max Pampers Litigation

  • 724 F.3d 713 (6th Cir. 2013)
  • Court Level: Appellate

CCAF objected to this $0 settlement between Proctor & Gamble Company and consumers who purchased certain kinds of Pampers diapers where class counsel requested $2.73…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Johnson & Johnson Derivative Litigation

  • No. 10-cv-2033, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167066 (D.N.J. Nov. 25, 2013)
  • Court Level: District

The Center objected to a settlement that paid the class $0, established meaningless corporate governance changes, and paid the attorneys over $10 million: the court…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

City of Livonia Employees Ret. Sys. v. Wyeth

  • No. 1:07-cv-10329 (RJS), 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113658 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 7, 2013)
  • Court Level: District

The Center represented a shareholder objecting to a securities class action wherein the $16.5M plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fee request was 4.2 times their normal billing rate.

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Richardson v. L’Oreal USA

  • 991 F. Supp. 2d 181, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158599 (D.D.C. Nov. 6, 2013)
  • Court Level: District

The district court sustained the Center’s objection to a settlement over shampoo labeling where the class would receive valueless injunctive relief and the attorneys sought…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Magsafe Apple Power Adapter Litigation

  • 571 Fed. Appx. 560 (9th Cir. Apr. 24, 2014) (unpublished)
  • Court Level: District

In this settlement over Apple power adapters, the district court failed to appraise class relief compared to the $3M that the settlement awarded to plaintiffs’…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Redman v. RadioShack Corp.

  • 768 F.3d 622 (7th Cir. 2014)
  • Court Level: Appellate

Plaintiffs sought statutory damages for RadioShack’s practice of printing expiration dates on credit card receipts. CCAF objected to a settlement that paid $1 million to…

Class Action Fairness

Litigation

Pearson v. NBTY, Inc.

  • 772 F.3d 778 (7th Cir. 2014)
  • Court Level: Appellate

The Center became involved in the case in 2014 when it objected to a class action settlement that would have provided attorneys $4.5 million but…

CEI Litigation

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