Supreme Court Remands Cy Pres-Only Class Action Settlement Question Over Standing Concerns

Decided March 20, 2019

Frank v. Gaos, No. 17-961

The Supreme Court determined that questions concerning plaintiffs' standing to challenge Google's alleged violations of user privacy prevented the Court from deciding whether cy pres-only class action settlements are fair, reasonable, and adequate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e).

Background:

Plaintiffs, on behalf of a putative class of 129 million users of Google's search engine, alleged that Google violated users' privacy under the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq., by disclosing the search terms they used to third-party websites. The parties agreed to an $8.5 million class action settlement consisting of $2 million in attorneys' fees and costs and $6.5 million distributed as a cy pres award to various institutions studying internet privacy and information sharing. Under the proposed settlement, class members would receive no money. The district court approved the settlement,