There were no published Ninth Circuit opinions yesterday. But there was definitely one today that piqued my interest: Whether the district court properly approved a class action settlement that will result in a $3 million cy pres award "to San Diego State University,
the University of California at San Diego, and the University
of San Diego School of Law 'for a chair, professorship,
fellowship, lectureship, seminar series or similar funding,
gift, or donation program . . . regarding internet privacy or
internet data security.'”
To be clear: That money isn't going to me. My field isn't internet privacy and data security.
But that multi-million dollar award still hits awfully close to home.
Fortunately -- for people around me, at least -- the Ninth Circuit affirms that cy pres portion of the settlement. Even as it vacates and remands other parts of the settlement, which gave a $20 credit (which the Ninth Circuit viewed as a "coupon" under CAFA) to various class members to buy other products from the defendants' website.
Judge Friedland gives some helpful insight into the nature of both fee awards in "coupon" cases as well as the permissibility of particular cy pres awards. Required reading for any class action counsel in the Ninth Circuit.
Or even just anyone who want to see how these things work.
