How Much Are Those Coupons Really Worth?

The federal district court approved a class action settlement in which class members were to receive coupons, and their lawyers were to receive cash. The Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the matter to the district court, stating: “When a settlement provides for coupon relief, either in whole or in part, any attorney’s fee ‘that is attributable to the award of coupons’ must be calculated using the redemption value of the coupons [pursuant to Class Action Fairness Act, CAFA, section 1712(a)]. Since the district court awarded fees that were ‘attributable to’ the coupon relief, but failed to first calculate the redemption value of those coupons, we reverse . . .” In re: HP Inkjet Printer Litigation v. Hewlett Packard (Ninth Cir.; May 15, 2013) (Case No. 11-16097).