An appeals court upheld the $1.4 billion class action settlement over Equifax’s 2017 data breach, overruling several objectors, including frequent class action critic Ted Frank.

In a Thursday decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit found, among other concerns, that lead plaintiffs were adequate representatives for the class and that the $77.5 million in attorney fees was reasonable. The appeals court also upheld U.S. District Thomas Thrash’s additional procedural rules concerning objectors, whom he excoriated in his 2020 approval of the settlement.

Judge Beverly B. Martin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Atlanta. (Photo: John Disney/ALM) Judge Beverly B. Martin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Atlanta. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)