PRACTITIONER BLOG
Read our analyses of developments in Impact Litigation and stay current on class action law
Supreme Court of California Approves Common Fund Fees
In a unanimous decision this morning, the California Supreme Court affirmed that attorneys’ fees in a class action may be calculated as a percentage of the common fund created by a settlement or judgment. Laffitte v. Robert Half Int’l, S222996 (August 11, 2016).
In determining the appropriate percentage, the trial court may -- but is not required to – conduct a lodestar cross-check. The trial court also has the discretion, in the first instance, to determine which fee calculation methodology to use (i.e. common fund or lodestar-multiplier) in any particular case. The decision has a useful discussion of the history and criticisms of each method.
The Underground Guide To Class Action Slang (part One)
Over the past half-century, class actions have changed the world for the better: desegregating schools and workplaces, ensuring clean air and water, and exposing unsafe products and corporate fraud. But, have you considered their impact on the English language? Class actions have spawned some inventive slang, which can be bewildering to practitioners new to the field, much less to ordinary folks. We’re here to help with this, the Impact Fund Class Action Dictionary.