[20171212]LSB10044_起诉赛百味：什么时候集体诉讼和解只对律师有利？.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Suing Subway: When Does a Class Action Settlement Benefit Only the Lawyers? December 12, 2017 In 2013, an Australian teenager measured a sandwich he purchased from a Subway restaurant and discovered that his “footlong” sandwich was missing an inch. After the teen posted his discovery on social media, his post went viral, and a group of consumers commenced a class action lawsuit against the restaurant chain alleging that its sandwiches were shorter than advertised. The parties ultimately agreed to settle their dispute on the condition that Subway (1) inspect and measure its baked rolls to ensure that its sandwiches were at least 12 inches in length; and (2) pay plaintiffs counsel over half a million dollars in attorney fees. In a recent decision, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected this proposed settlement. The Court ruled that the settlement violated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures requirement that class action settlements be “fair, reasonable, and adequate” because the settlement did not meaningfully benefit Subways customers, but instead solely benefited