united-states settlement class-action punitive-damages civil-penalty
Is there any case law that sets the minimum amount in controversy to the minimum amount permissible to settle in class actions?
<p>There, of course, are such a compensatory-to-punitive damages ratio principle — even if merely in the form of fairly complex guideposts for e.g. the BMW guidepost, the just less-less-than-10x of Johnson v. Ford, etc. because it is within the forefront of public interest to prevent sentient corporate America from cruel punishments, but is there a similar at-least—x-fraction-of-amount-in-controversy with a similarly tactile set of rules for a court to <em>not</em> approve a class settlement and allow only proceeding to trial?</p>
<p>For e.g., if the class is preponderated by members of financially vulnerable individuals, <em>or</em> if the median amounts in controversy per member exceeds a certain proportion of the median income (e.g. a quarter of it), <em>or</em> if it relates to the liquidation of restitution for employment or substantially similar contracts <em>or</em> any other such rules that latitude of a court to approve a settlement once a complaint is file.</p>
<p>In other words: Are there similar complex rules to protect the average Joe too from greedy companies who appear to be basically hit the whole flock of birds with a stone kept while lawyers for the plaintiff work out a new Lambo or a house out of a 35% share of a few mill?</p>
<p>How is this very apparent conflict of interest resolved?</p>

<h2><a href="https://www.slatergordon.com.au/class-actions/class-actions-101" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Yes</a></h2>
<p><a href="/questions/tagged/australia" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;australia&#39;" rel="tag">australia</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>In Australia, class action settlements require the approval of the Court before they can take effect. The representative plaintiff will make an application to the Court to approve a proposed settlement, in which they will need to provide the Court with a significant amount of information about the settlement, how it was reached, and what it will mean for group members.</p>
<p>The Court will generally be concerned with answering two main kinds of question about a settlement:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it a fair and reasonable settlement considering the claims made on behalf of the group members?</p>
</li>
<li><p>Has the settlement been reached in the interests of group members as well as the representative plaintiff, and not just in the interests of the representative and the defendant?</p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
