Class actions play a vital role in our legal system. These lawsuits are often the only vehicle for injured plaintiffs to receive compensation when a defendant’s wrongs are widely dispersed and it would be impractical for a single individual to sue.
Yet the process of settling these suits is subject to perverse incentives on the part of the lawyers representing the injured parties. Class counsel often will seek the largest portion of the settlement award for themselves—structuring the settlement to maximize attorney fees—at the expense of class members.
Sadly, this sort of self-dealing on the part of class counsel is exactly what happened in Blackman v. Gascho. The case centers on a consumer class action filed against Global Fitness Holdings LLC, alleging that the between 2006 and 2012, the company sold gym memberships and incorrectly charged fees pertaining to cancellation, facility maintenance, and personal-training contracts. A group of plaintiffs sued Global Fitness over the fees, and the parties entered into a “claims-made” settlement.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/courts-should-stop-approving-unfair-class-action-settlements
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