New York's Highest Court: Pre-Certification Settlements Require Classwide Notice

Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Court of Appeals holds that the state's class action rules require notice of settlements to be sent to putative class members – even though no class has been certified.

In a decision sure to send shivers up the spines of wage and hour practitioners in New York, the State's highest court has held that notice of a class action settlement must be distributed to all members of the putative class, even when the settlement comes before a class has been certified.  Together with Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, a Second Circuit ruling that pertains to FLSA settlements, the decision erects some very high hurdles for parties seeking early settlements in wage and hour cases in New York.