Stetson v West Publishing dba BAR/BRI Settlement FAQs
- What is this lawsuit about?
- What was the result of the prior settlement?
- Am I a member of the Class?
- What are the Benefits of the Settlement?
- How do I get the benefits of the settlement?
- What is the amount of the cash payment that I will receive from the Settlement Fund?
- What happened at the Fairness Hearing?
- What is this lawsuit about?
BAR/BRI provides full service bar review courses throughout the United States aimed at assisting would-be attorneys to prepare to take one or more of the bar examinations that are required by each state and the District of Columbia before an attorney obtains a license to practice law. Plaintiffs alleged that BAR/BRI violated federal antitrust laws by agreeing with Kaplan to limit competition in the market for full service bar review courses. West was the owner of BAR/BRI during the relevant period and is a Defendant for that reason. The other Defendant is Kaplan. Plaintiffs alleged that BAR/BRI agreed not to compete in the LSAT business and that Kaplan agreed not to compete in the bar review business, thereby allocating to BAR/BRI the market for full-service bar review courses in the United States and preventing a competitive bar review course from being marketed and sold.
Plaintiffs also alleged that BAR/BRI unlawfully acquired and maintained a monopoly in the market for full service bar review courses in the United States and also conspired to monopolize that market, all through a variety of means. As a result, Plaintiffs alleged, competition in the relevant market was adversely affected.
Top - What was the result of the prior settlement?
This is the second proposed settlement reached in this case. The prior proposed settlement, of which you may have received notice in April 2011, was not finally approved by the District Court, and no settlement checks were therefore distributed to the Class. In November 2011, the Court of Appeals ordered the parties to continue negotiating an amended settlement before the Ninth Circuit Mediator, leading ultimately to this new settlement. The new settlement supersedes the prior proposed settlement. In order to be eligible to receive a cash payment from the new settlement, you were required to submit a claim form postmarked or submitted online no later than July 8, 2013. To be eligible to receive a cash payment, you were required to submit a claim form in this new settlement even if you submitted one under the prior proposed settlement.
Top - Am I a member of the Class?
All persons and entities who paid for a BAR/BRI full-service bar-review course from August 1, 2006, through and including March 21, 2011, will be considered members of the class.
Excluded from the Class are the defendants in this litigation, as well as their respective officers, directors, employees and personnel, as well as all employees and personnel of any law firm that is counsel of record in this litigation to any Defendant.
Top - What are the Benefits of the Settlement?
Defendants have agreed to pay the total sum of $9,500,000 (the "Settlement Fund"), which sum shall be used to make distributions to and for the benefit of Class Members who submit properly completed and timely Claim Forms if the Settlement is approved by the Court; to pay attorney's fees and expenses approved by the Court; to pay Incentive Awards to the Representative Plaintiffs on account of their services in connection with this litigation, as approved by the Court; to pay the costs of providing Notice to the Class; to pay the fees and expenses of the Claims Administrator, as approved by the Court; and to pay fees associated with the administration and maintenance of the Settlement Fund, as approved by the Court.
Top - How do I get the benefits of the settlement?
To receive a cash payment from the Settlement Fund, you must have completed and filed a Claim form postmarked or submitted online no later than July 8, 2013.
Top - What is the amount of the cash payment that I will receive from the Settlement Fund?
After deducting the Fee Award, the Expense Award, the Incentive Awards, and an additional amount to be paid to the Claims Administrator for administering the Settlement (all in amounts to be approved by the Court), the Settlement Fund will be paid to eligible Class Members who have timely submitted the Claim Form. Each such Class Member's Award will be calculated based on (a) the amount paid by each such Class Member as indicated on the website and (b) the number and amount of timely claims submitted by all Class Members. Each Class Member's Distribution Ratio will then be calculated by dividing his or her claim by all timely and valid claims.
Top - What happened at the Fairness Hearing?
On August 19, 2013 the Court granted Final Approval of the settlement. An appeal to the Settlement was subsequently filed, which delayed full implementation of the Settlement, including any monetary benefits to be paid to approved claimants, until all appeals were resolved. The appeal was filed in February, 2014. All appeals to the Settlement were resolved in early 2018.
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