Class Notice

  • April 19, 2022

Kingara v. Secure Home Health Care Inc. and the Precertification Powers of the Massachusetts Courts

Class Actions, Class Notice, Massachusetts Decisions
Practice area:

The Backdrop

Class actions are like butterflies; they must undergo a metamorphosis before they fly. The transformation occurs when a court grants class certification. At that instant, what had started out as an individual lawsuit emerges as its own entity, with a number of legal consequences flowing from the change. Among them, plaintiff’s counsel becomes class counsel, representing and owing fiduciary duties to the entire class; the court also becomes a fiduciary, charged with its own responsibility for protecting absent class members (including, importantly, the duty to scrutinize proposed class settlements); and class members become represented parties, which triggers the ethical rules that limit or prohibit defense counsel from communicating with them.

The situation before class certification is different. Because the class does not yet exist, most courts recognize that the fiduciary duties of plaintiff’s counsel and the court to putative class members do not kick in (or, at least, not fully), and defense counsel is generally free to communicate directly with

Continue Reading...
  • February 12, 2019

Amendments to Rule 23 Now in Full Swing

Appeals, Class Action Settlements, Class Notice
Authors:
Practice area:

On December 1, 2018, the amendments to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 took effect, principally altering portions of the Rule governing class action notice, settlement, and appeals. Although the amendments were approved earlier in 2018 by the United States Supreme Court, they had been in the works for some time.

In 2014, a subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules met with class action attorneys from both the plaintiffs’ and defense bar all across the country in a series of meetings, seeking input on amendments to Rule 23. One such meeting was held in October 2014 during the ABA’s National Institute on Class Actions, a two-day conference well-attended by counsel in private practice, in-house counsel, academics, and reporters from class action news services. Those of us in attendance had the opportunity to offer the subcommittee suggestions on how to amend the Rule to better address problems we encounter in practice, such as cy pres awards, professional objectors, and issue classes. Fast-forward four years later, and

Continue Reading...
  • April 05, 2017

Proposed Changes to Rule 23: Electronic Notice and Efforts to Curb Abuses in Settlement Objection Process

Class Action Settlements, Class Notice
Authors:
Practice area:

On this blog, we previously wrote about the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, and identified its potential to bring significant changes to class action practice. That Act was passed by the House on March 9, 2017, based on a 220-201 vote, split almost entirely along party lines, and has now advanced to the Senate for additional consideration.  Whether the Act will become law remains uncertain, and we will continue to monitor future developments. In the meantime, however, it is worthwhile to take note of the proposed changes to Rule 23 itself which are also currently under consideration.

In August 2016, the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure published its proposed amendments to Rule 23. The amendments include a variety of changes concerning class settlement and notice.  This post will focus on two specific areas covered by the amendments: electronic notice to class members, and class settlement objectors. The proposals, if approved, could become effective

Continue Reading...