Not Just Alive, But Thriving: Recent Developmentsin Class Action Law, page 3

Not Just Alive, But Thriving (continued)

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E. Cabraser, "Life After Amchem: The Class Struggle Continues," 31 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 373 (1998). (Copies available.)

Hanlon v. Chrysler Corporation, 150 F.3d 1011(9th Cir. 1998)

The Ninth Circuit's first post-Amchem decision approved a nationwide class action settlement covering all owners of 1984-94 Chrysler minivans (over 4,000,000 members). The settlement obligated Chrysler to fix defective rear door latches, a remedy that had been previously imposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Court acknowledged that Amchem required "heightened scrutiny to cases in which class members may have claims of different strength" but distinguished it as concerning "settlement allocations decisions" that were absent in the minivan settlement. Notably, the Court approved consolidation in federal court of several state court actions (into a nationwide class action) and an order by the District Court to enjoin additional state class actions.

In re Prudential Ins. Co. American Sales Litigation, 148 F.3d 283 (3rd Cir. 1998)

In this 63-page opinion, the Third Circuit approved a nationwide class action settlement involving over 8 million claimants concerning Prudential's life insurance sales practices. The opinion is the most comprehensive recent analysis of class action settlements. The settlement was based on the terms of a Multi-State Life Insurance Task Force Plan, instigated by the New Jersey Insurance Commissioner. Significantly, the settlement improved upon the Task Force Plan. It provided for uncapped ADR resolution of claims with a guarantee of a minimum payment of $410 million and additional remediation of between $50 and $300 million. Among the key issues resolved were (1) the District Court had proper diversity subject matter jurisdiction and properly took pendant jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367 of all state claims, (2) the settlement class was properly certified under Amchem standards, (3) the reliance issue related to various fraud claims did not defeat the predominance conclusion, (4) expansion of factors used to determine the fairness of a settlement (see 148 F.3d at 323), and (5) approval of the late amendment of the complaint to include all "other sales claims" and provide Prudential a broader release.

The Increasing Utilization of Court-Appointed Mediators, Settlement Masters and other ADR Techniques in Negotiating Class Settlements.

Linney v. Cellular Alaska Partnership, 151 F.3d 1234 (9th Cir. 1998)

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