NYT Auto-Renewals Class Settlement Gets Tossed Back on Appeal

A class action settlement to resolve claims over The New York Times’ subscription auto-renewal practices has been vacated, after the Second Circuit said the district court applied the wrong legal standard in reviewing the deal.

The district court also failed to adequately evaluate the substantive fairness of the settlement in light of the attorneys’ fee award and incentive award, it said.

Although such errors could conceivably be harmless, Judge Gerard E. Lynch said that wasn’t the case here.

Before Rule 23(e)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure was codified, courts applied a presumption of fairness to agreements resulting from ...