Class Settlement Releases Under Siege

• Author: Barry Glaspell
• Pages: 37-52

37

Class Settlement Releases Under Siege

Barry Glaspell

AbstrAct: The scope of a class action release often becomes the focal

point of interest for a settlement approval judge. Careful judicial scrutiny

should be given to ensure the release, as applied to absent class members,

is neither unfair nor overbroad. So-called “future conduct release,” in par-

ticular, may need to be narrowed or clarif‌ied as a condition of settlement

approval. Detailed attention to the terms of the settlement release by the

class action settlement approval judge is likely to enhance the settlement’s

robustness in the face of subsequent attack by those seeking to “double

dip” the litigation process. While post-settlement attempts by class action

releasors to sue released defendants will fail most of the time, unique con-

stitutional law and rule of law issues arise when a government-releasor

subsequently enacts legislation purporting to override a class settlement.