United States Ninth Circuit

When parties (1) enter into a binding class action settlement agreement, which requires court approval pursuant to Rule 23(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and (2) provide the required notice of the settlement to the district court prior to the district court's entry of the final judgments, the district court should hold a hearing and review the settlement agreement to determine if it is fair, reasonable, and adequate. A failure to do so, even when the district court has already drafted a summary judgment order, is an abuse of discretion.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/09/2007
• Decided 02/19/2008
• Published 02/19/2008

Judges

• N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judge:, Before:  KIM McLANE WARDLAW, CARLOS T. BEA, and N. RANDY SMITH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• T. David Copley, Lynn Lincoln Sarko, Ron Kilgard, Elizabeth A. Leland, Laura R. Gerber, Keller Rohrback, L.L.P., Seattle, WA;  Edward W. Ciolko, Joseph Meltzer, Gerald Wells III, and Mark Gyandoh, Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP, Radnor, PA;  and Christopher Kim, Lisa J. Yang, Lim, Ruger & Kim, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for the plaintiffs-appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Daniel S. Floyd, Law Offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for the defendants-appellees.