Consider the following scenario your business is one of many sued in a class action lawsuit for allegedly conspiring to overcharge consumers of baby products. After five years of costly litigation, all of the defendants decide to settle. They collectively agree to pay $35.5 million into a settlement fund.
Of that amount, only $3 million actually goes to allegedly injured consumers. Fully six times that amount, $18.5 million, is to be paid to disinterested charities who were uninvolved in the lawsuit. The remaining money, a stunning $14 million, will be paid to the attorneys who brought the suit, a figure justified by the false assumption that counsel provided a significant benefit to the class, even though the class on whose behalf the case was filed is set to receive less than 10 percent of the settlement fund.
