Seventh Circuit: Walgreens, Shareholder Settlement Little More than $370K Payday for Lawyers

The Cook County Record discusses CEI's Center for Class Action Fairness' case in the Walgreens Co. Stockholder Litigation:

In the proposed settlement to end the litigation, Walgreens agreed to make certain disclosures, ostensibly to satisfy the concerns spelled out in Hays’ complaint. And the drug store chain agreed to pay $370,000 to the lawyers representing Hays and the other plaintiffs.

However, the settlement was challenged by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which represented John Berlau, a Walgreens stockholder who had objected to the settlement. The Washington, D.C.-based CEI describes itself as a “nonprofit public policy organization dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government, free enterprise and individual liberty.” Among other ventures, the CEI operates the Center for Class Action Fairness, which has filed objections to numerous class action settlements its leaders believe unfairly benefit plaintiffs’ lawyers who may earn large fees, compared to purportedly nominal awards for class members.