Eleventh Circuit Rejects Incentive And Award To Class Representative In TCPA Class Action

In Johnson v. NPAS Sols., LLC, No. 18-12344 (11th Cir. Sep. 17, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit (the "Court") found a series of errors in an order entered by the Southern District of Florida approving the settlement of a class action alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Significantly, the Court invalidated the use of incentive awards for named plaintiffs as inconsistent with the Federal Rules. The significant aspects of the Court's ruling are as follows:

First, the Court agreed with an objection to the settlement based on the timing of the approval order. It held that the trial court violated Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(h) by setting the deadline for class members to object to the settlement - including any award of attorneys' fees - two weeks before the deadline for class counsel to file its fee petition. But it found this procedural error was harmless because the objector did not raise any new objections after she had time to review