Supreme Court Asked to Review $50M Duracell Class Action Settlement

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The $50 million Procter & Gamble class action settlement that ended allegations over Duracell’s battery life now faces an objector who claims the Class Counsel benefits too much by the terms of the agreement.

Theodore Frank of the Center for Class Action Fairness has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and review the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold a lower court’s approval of the deal.

According to the Duracell battery life class action lawsuit settlement, Class Members including more than 7.2 million U.S. consumers would be eligible to receive $3 per battery pack for AA or AAA Duracell Ultra Advanced or Ultra Power batteries up to four packs with proof of purchase and two packs without it.

Frank claims that the Duracell battery class action settlement also awards Class Counsel with more than $5.6 million, which is a value that assumes every one of the potential 7.2 million Class Members would file a Claim. Frank argues that Class Counsel knew that only a small fraction would end up filing a Claim. “Class counsel plainly received by far the largest share of whatever benefits this settlement produced,” Frank said.

The other terms of the Duracell battery life class action lawsuit settlement includes Procter & Gamble agreeing to donate $6 million worth of batteries to various charities over the next five years and an injunction that applies to an already-discontinued battery line.

Frank first objected to the Duracell class action settlement in 2014 but the 11th Circuit Court upheld the $50 million settlement this past summer.

The three judge panel wrote: “The district court did not use the wrong legal standards, apply our precedents unreasonably or incorrectly, follow improper procedures, or make clearly erroneous findings of fact in deciding that the settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate.”

In fact, the 11th Circuit judges also found that the $5.6 million in attorney fees was not too much and the lower court did not abuse its discretion in approving that amount.

“Given the district court’s settlement valuation, which we conclude from the record is not clearly erroneous, we hold that the district court’s approval of class counsel’s fees-and-costs award was not an abuse of discretion,” the appellate court added.

The Duracell battery class action lawsuit settlement ended two lawsuits that claimed Class Members paid a premium for the Ultra Advanced or Ultra Power batteries that contained no significant difference in battery life when compared to the standard Duracell batteries.

The deadline to file a claim for the Duracell battery settlement passed on April 10, 2014.

More information about the status of the Duracell battery class action settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by E. Clayton Lowe Jr. of Lowe Law Firm LLC, Dennis G. Pantazis Sr. and Joshua R. Gale of Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher & Goldfarb LLC, Peter A. Grammas of the Law Office of Peter A. Grammas, and Noah Schubert and Robert C. Schubert of Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP.

The Duracell Battery Life Class Action Lawsuit is Theodore Frank, et al. v. Joshua D. Poertner, et al., Case No. 15-765, in the U.S. Supreme Court.