Class Action & Mass Torts

September 24, 2020

Ordinarily, a ratio of 25:1 would ring the death knell for a punitive damages award. But just as a 1:1 ratio is not always a safe harbor, a double-digit ratio is not always indicative of a punitive award that exceeds constitutional bounds. Such is the case in Adeli v. Silverstar Automotive, Inc.…

Product Liability & Mass Torts Blog

Eleventh Circuit Rules That Class Representative Incentive Awards Are Impermissible

By Aphrodite Kokolis

September 23, 2020

Supreme Court columns with American flag and US Capitol

In a decision with potentially far-reaching consequences for class actions, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the ubiquitous practice of awarding a class representative an “incentive” payment as part of a class action settlement is impermissible. Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, Inc., No. 18-12344, ___ F.3d ____, 2020 WL 5553312 (11th Cir. Sept. 17, 2020).…

Drug Injury Watch

Safety of Beovu: A Lingering Issue Which Novartis Attempts to Counter with Recent Study Results

By Tom Lamb

September 22, 2020

Recent Bevou Label Change in Europe Adds Information About Retinal Vasculitis and Retinal Vascular Occlusion (Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com) In mid-September 2020 Novartis announced the results of a Phase 3 head-to-head study comparing its relatively new eye medicine Beovu to Eylea, a more well-established competing eye drug product from Regeneron. According to Novartis, this study shows that after one year of treatment Beovu matched Eylea in terms of the best-corrected…

Consumer Class Defense Counsel

Divided Eleventh Circuit Panel Bars Incentive Awards for Class Representatives in Class Action Settlements

By Richard S. Davis, Christina M. Kennedy & Aaron R. Wegrzyn

September 22, 2020

While not authorized by Rule 23, incentive awards to class representatives are a common feature of class action settlements. Nevertheless, a divided Eleventh Circuit panel ruled last Thursday that such payments are strictly prohibited by “on-point Supreme Court precedent” from the 1880s. The decision in Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, No. 18-12344, 2020 WL 5553312 (11th Cir. Sept. 17, 2020), reversed and vacated a district court order that approved a settlement after the Eleventh Circuit concluded…

Declassified

11th Circuit Forbids Incentive Payments

By J. Thomas Richie, Dylan C. Black & Scott Burnett Smith

September 22, 2020

You need to read Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC. This recent decision from the 11th Circuit fundamentally changes the rules of obtaining approval for class action settlements. Johnson’s introduction emphasizes that the 11th Circuit is shaking up the way class actions are settled and that the court knows it: “The class-action settlement that underlies this appeal is just like so many others that have come before it. And in a way, that’s exactly the problem.…

Workplace Class Action Blog

The Eleventh Circuit Deals A Significant Blow To Class Action Suits By Eliminating Incentive Awards For Plaintiffs

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

September 21, 2020

By: Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex S. Oxyer Seyfarth Synopsis: Incentive awards for class representatives are impermissible, according to a ground-breaking decision last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Though not an employment case, the decision is a must-read for class action practitioners handling all varieties of workplace class and collective action litigation, such as wage & hour and employment discrimination lawsuits. The decision may diminish the ability of…

Consumer Class Defense Blog

Eleventh Circuit Ends “Routine” Practice of Awarding Incentive Payments to Named Class Representatives

By Emily Kesler

September 21, 2020

It is not atypical for class actions to be brought seeking damages that can be characterized as nominal in nature. An oftentimes powerful incentive for potential class representatives to put their names on a putative class action is the promise of an incentive payment or award, paid to the class representative out of a class settlement fund purportedly to compensate the named plaintiff for work done on behalf of a class and assumption of those…

Employment Class Action Blog

Eleventh Circuit Invalidates Class Action Individual Incentive Awards

By Greg Mersol

September 21, 2020

Yes, you read that right. Class action litigation is fueled largely by the availability of often large attorney fee awards. To get a class action case in the first place, however, attorneys bringing them often entice a potential individual plaintiff into the role of class representative with the prospect of a monetary “incentive award,” usually in the thousands of dollars. Indeed, the giving of such awards has become commonplace or even routine. But is it lawful? Apparently not. In Johnson v. NPAS …

Class Actions Insider

Are Incentive Awards for Named Plaintiffs in Class Actions Allowed? Not According to the Eleventh Circuit

By Wystan Ackerman

September 21, 2020

A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit struck down a practice that is commonplace in class action settlements—providing a modest incentive award to a named plaintiff. In Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, No. 18-12344, 2020 WL 5553312 (11th Cir. Sept. 17, 2020), the district court, as part of the final approval of a class action settlement, approved a $6,000 incentive award for the named plaintiff. An objector to the settlement challenged the incentive award…

Class Action Countermeasures

Eleventh Circuit Panel Finds Class Action Incentive Payment Improper

By Drew Gann, Diane Flannery, Bethany Gayle Lukitsch & Trent Taylor

September 18, 2020

On September 17, 2020, in a potentially groundbreaking decision that could have huge implications for the future of class actions, a split panel of the Eleventh Circuit held that incentive payments given to a named plaintiff in a class action are improper. See Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, No. 18-12344, “Slip Op.” (11th Cir. 2020). Judge Newsom writing for the majority of him and Judge Baldock—a Tenth Circuit judge sitting by designation—held “that Supreme Court…

Class Action & Mass Torts

Eighth Circuit Okays 25:1 Ratio In Fraud Case

Eleventh Circuit Rules That Class Representative Incentive Awards Are Impermissible

Safety of Beovu: A Lingering Issue Which Novartis Attempts to Counter with Recent Study Results

Divided Eleventh Circuit Panel Bars Incentive Awards for Class Representatives in Class Action Settlements

11th Circuit Forbids Incentive Payments

The Eleventh Circuit Deals A Significant Blow To Class Action Suits By Eliminating Incentive Awards For Plaintiffs

Eleventh Circuit Ends “Routine” Practice of Awarding Incentive Payments to Named Class Representatives

Eleventh Circuit Invalidates Class Action Individual Incentive Awards

Are Incentive Awards for Named Plaintiffs in Class Actions Allowed? Not According to the Eleventh Circuit

Eleventh Circuit Panel Finds Class Action Incentive Payment Improper

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