American Express Gift Card Deal ‘Flawed,’ but Adequate

A settlement between American Express Travel Related Services Co. and a class of gift card holders “is not without issues” but was properly approved nonetheless, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held Dec. 7.

The lower court found itself in the “unenviable position” of deciding whether to approve an “adequate—albeit flawed—settlement and allow class members to get their meager recoveries, or reject it and have the parties further exhaust their resources (and the settlement fund)” renegotiating the deal, Judge Daniel A. Manion wrote.

Negotiations have gone on for seven years and notice has been sent to class ...