Professor Howard Erichson is quoted in a Law360 article that profiles Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s fight to protect consumers in class action lawsuit settlements.
While Brnovich’s interventions might have earned him some enemies in the plaintiffs bar, others in the class action sector say monitoring settlements definitely falls under the umbrella of an attorney general’s responsibilities, and they hope Brnovich’s work is the start of a trend.
Professor Howard M. Erichson of the Fordham University School of Law, whose research focuses on settlements, said the consumer protection responsibilities of attorneys general jibe with Brnovich’s activism.
“It’s an act of consumer protection by attorneys general, which absolutely falls within their realm,” Erichson said.
And it’s a relatively safe move politically, because it’s not targeting class actions themselves — which could be perceived as pro-corporation — but defending consumers against attorneys that are allegedly taking advantage of them, Erichson said.
But Brnovich’s motivations shouldn’t matter, Erichson added.
“What I care about is getting judges to see that there are some rotten class action settlements, and if the Arizona attorney general is helping judges to spot rotten class action settlements, then that is a really good development as far as I’m concerned,” Erichson said.