District Court Certifies Settlement Class Without State-by-State Analysis of Laws

Per BNA's Class Action Litigation Report, 3/27/2009:

No detailed state-by-state analysis of the various state consumer protection laws was needed before certifying a settlement of class claims arising from bulb failures in high-end televisions, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York decided Feb. 24 (Ersler v. Toshiba America, Inc., E.D.N.Y., No. 07-cv-02394, 2/24/09).

Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold approved a joint request by the parties to approve a settlement compensating class members and awarding negotiated counsel fees and expenses of $247,224.40. The settlement, the court said, is fair and there were few objections or opt-outs.

. . .

The court acknowledged case law instructing that the predominance requirement for class certification cannot be met where state-by-state analysis is required. But, the court was satisfied that state-by-state analysis is not required here.

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