Court of Appeal Reminds Litigants That Settling With Named Plaintiff Does Not Necessarily End Putative Class Action

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Sheppard Mullin

By Neil A.F. Popović and Lai Lam Yip

If a defendant in a putative class action settles with the class representative prior to class certification, does the defendant nonetheless have to respond to pre-settlement discovery requests to identify absent class members? According to the California Court of Appeal in Pirjada v. Superior Court, 2011 WL 6144930, Case No. B234813 (Cal. App. Dec. 12, 2011), the answer is no, although the appellate court left open the possibility that the trial court could require some form of notice to protect the interests of absent class members.
 

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Multimillion Dollar Class Action Settlements Approved In Insurance Brokerage Litigations

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Sheppard Mullin

By Daniel Brown

On September 8, 2009, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the approval of two multimillion-dollar class action settlements in consolidated multi district cases arising from investigations and civil lawsuits alleging bid rigging and steering activities in the insurance industry. See In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, Nos. 07-1759 et al. (3d Cir. Sept. 8, 2009).  Specifically, after rejecting objections to the settlements, the court approved two settlements valued at $150 million, and also approved an award of $29.9 million in legal fees and costs for the larger of the settlements.
 

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