Eleventh Circuit Stands Firm – No Incentive Awards For Class Representatives

Nearly two years after it issued its initial decision in Johnson v. NPAS Sols., LLC, in which it held incentive awards for class representatives to be per se unlawful, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denied a petition for rehearing en banc, on Aug. 3, 2022. In choosing not to revisit its decision, the court confirmed that class representative incentive awards are prohibited as a matter of law within its jurisdiction – federal district courts in Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

As a refresher, in Johnson, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit on behalf of himself and a putative class against a debt collection agency (NPAS) alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Eventually, the parties agreed to settle the case on a classwide basis. Based on the terms of the settlement agreement, NPAS would pay $1.432 million into a settlement fund for participating class members – approximately $80 per class member after attorneys fees and