CEI Asks for Rehearing on Settlement in Berry v. Lexis

Today the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF), a project of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to rehear to Berry v. Lexis settlement case against Lexis Nexis, after the court initially ruled against CCAF on December 4, 2015.

CCAF argued that the settlement was unfair to the class and that the class attorneys were seeking excessive fees. Today’s petition for a rehearing was prompted by the court’s failure to follow governing Supreme Court law that recognizes the inherent potential for abuses of the class action settlement process.

CCAF attorney Adam Schulman said,

“The court’s previous ruling created a circuit split concerning injunctive-relief class action settlements, but if the court rehears this case, the Fourth Circuit will have the opportunity to repair the split. In doing so, it would reaffirm that the class action mechanism is supposed to serve class members, not attorneys or defendants.”

“To ensure a proper ruling and a fair settlement, we implore the court to reexamine these issues.”

See more on the case, including today’s filing, here