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Full-Text Articles in Law
Clear Sailing Agreements: A Special Form Of Collusion In Class Action Settlements, William D. Henderson
Clear Sailing Agreements: A Special Form Of Collusion In Class Action Settlements, William D. Henderson
Articles by Maurer Faculty
A clear sailing agreement (or clause) is a compromise in which a class action defendant agrees not to contest the class lawyer's petition for attorneys' fees. This Article argues that clear sailing provisions often facilitate collusive settlements in cases involving non-pecuniary relief or claims-made common funds that return all unclaimed monies to the defendant. Because these types of settlements present difficult valuation problems, trial courts lack a clear benchmark for calculating attorneys' fees. Defendants and class can exploit this uncertainty by presenting an inflated settlement value to the court (to justify higher attorneys' fees) while simultaneously reducing the true cost …
Power And Legal Artifice: The Federal Class Action, Bryant Garth
Power And Legal Artifice: The Federal Class Action, Bryant Garth
Articles by Maurer Faculty
Using case studies and interviews with lawyers and representatives in class actions, this article explores the contribution that class actions make to their ostensible beneficiaries. The article first distinguishes the major types of class actions in terms of the roles of lawyers and class representatives, ranging from very passive representatives to individuals intensively involved with the dispute that gave rise to the litigation. The article next seeks to evaluate the class actions. On the basis of the results of the class actions, the article finds that class actions cannot be proclaimed major contributors to social change. The focus on results, …