Class Action Insider

In a recent Ninth Circuit decision, the court affirmed that the key factor in determining whether an attorneys’ fee award in a Rule 23 class action settlement is reasonable is the benefit the class received under the settlement.

The nature of a class action requires defendants to think beyond the story or situation posed by one single plaintiff. When facing a lawsuit that potentially challenges a large-scale business practice or procedure, counsel often must focus on big-picture systemic issues that may affect hundreds or thousands of people. Yet sometimes, the deposition of a single person—the proposed class representative, commonly referred to as the “named plaintiff”—can elicit facts that tear the entire class action apart.