OPINION OF THE COURT
FUENTES, Circuit Judge.
This matter arises out of a consolidated class action suit seeking injunctive and monetary relief in connection with the sale of Coumadin, the brand name for the prescription drug warfarin sodium manufactured and marketed by the DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company ("DuPont").
I. BACKGROUND
A. Factual History
Warfarin sodium is a prescription oral anticoagulant medication sold in tablet form that is taken by more than 2 million Americans to treat blood-clotting disorders. DuPont has been the dominant manufacturer and supplier of warfarin sodium under the brand name Coumadin, recording sales of approximately $550 million and $464 million, respectively, in 1998 and 1999. Although DuPont's Coumadin patent expired in 1962, Coumadin remained the only warfarin sodium product available until July 1997, when a generic version of warfarin sodium was released onto the market following approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). Class action plaintiffs have alleged that DuPont, in response to the competition from lower-priced generic warfarin sodium, disseminated false and misleading information to consumers, TPPs, and others about the safety and equivalence of generic warfarin sodium. As a result, plaintiffs allege that DuPont's campaign of misrepresentations and omissions caused consumers and TPPs to buy higher-priced, brand name Coumadin instead of the lower-priced generic warfarin sodium.
DuPont's alleged violations are said to have begun when Barr Laboratories, Inc. ("Barr") filed a petition with the FDA in May 1995 seeking approval to manufacture and distribute a generic warfarin sodium product. In response to Barr's petition, DuPont filed a petition for stay with the FDA in October 1996 requesting that the FDA adopt stricter bioequivalence standards and postpone approval for all generic warfarin sodium products. The FDA denied DuPont's petition, however, on the grounds that the methods in place for determining bioequivalence were sufficient. At the same time, DuPont filed a petition with the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc. ("USP") requesting the adoption of Coumadin's content uniformity specifications as the industry standard for warfarin sodium drugs. The USP rejected this petition.
In March 1997, the FDA approved a generic warfarin sodium, finding that it was the bioequivalent and therapeutic equivalent to Coumadin.
DuPont also allegedly ran a publicity campaign claiming that Coumadin had tighter than USP content uniformity standards. DuPont issued a press release, which stated that patients should receive additional blood tests if switched to generic warfarin sodium and accused Barr of focusing on producing a cheaper product to save money while DuPont focused on patient safety and education. Furthermore, DuPont allegedly created an organization named the Health Alliance for NTI Patient Safety for the purpose of lobbying state legislatures, formularies, and pharmacy boards to exclude NTI drugs from state generic substitution laws.
Plaintiffs assert that the misrepresentations led consumers, TPPs, and others to believe that Coumadin was superior to the generic equivalents, caused millions of prescriptions to be filled with Coumadin that could have been filled with less expensive generic drugs, and allowed DuPont to maintain supracompetitive prices for Coumadin. As evidence that DuPont's misrepresentations and conduct had an anticompetitive effect, plaintiffs cited evidence of the weak market penetration of generic warfarin sodium as compared to Coumadin. Generally, about 40-70% of prescriptions for drugs available from multiple sources are filled with less expensive generic products within one year of generic availability. However, more than 75% of prescriptions for sodium warfarin were still filled with Coumadin a year after Barr introduced its generic version, and DuPont continued to maintain a 67% market share up until the date the complaints in this matter were filed.
B. Procedural History
Beginning in 1997, class action complaints were filed in several federal district courts and were consolidated for pretrial proceedings by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ("MDL panel") before the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The class actions sought treble damages and injunctive relief under federal antitrust laws on behalf of a nationwide class of consumer and TPP purchasers of Coumadin who paid all or part of the purchase price. In an order dated December 7, 1998, the District Court dismissed the claims on the grounds that consumer plaintiffs, as indirect purchasers of Coumadin, lacked standing to seek injunctive relief and treble damages under the Sherman Act. See In re: Warfarin Sodium
Following our decision, several additional class actions were filed in Delaware District Court as well as other federal courts by TPP plaintiffs and a state medicaid agency and were transferred to the Delaware District Court as tag-along actions pursuant to the order of the MDL panel. After discussions among counsel, the parties negotiated and drafted a pretrial case management order ("CMO"), which the District Court entered on February 22, 2001. The CMO established a plaintiffs' Executive Committee, established procedures for conducting settlement discussions, and specified when and how to file a consolidated class action complaint.
A consolidated class action complaint was filed in the District Court on March 30, 2001 by consumers and TPPs on behalf of all similarly situated U.S. consumers who purchased Coumadin at supracompetitive prices and all similarly situated U.S. TPPs who paid for the fulfillment of Coumadin prescriptions for their members or their insureds at supracompetitive prices beginning in July 1997. Plaintiffs sought an injunction and other equitable relief under § 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 26,
C. Settlement Negotiations and Agreement
Pursuant to the CMO, co-chairs of the Executive Committee had primary responsibility for submitting motions to the District Court, engaging in discovery, conducting negotiations with DuPont, and acting as the spokesperson for the plaintiffs at pretrial conferences. Any settlement discussions had to be attended by at least one of the co-chairs, one consumer representative, and one TPP representative, and no settlement offer could be made or accepted without the prior consent of all consumer and TPP representatives on the committee.
Settlement negotiations in the federal actions began in March 2000 and continued through the next year. The parties reached an oral agreement on the basic terms of the proposed settlement on April 19, 2001, executed a memorandum of understanding on May 14, 2001, and entered into a Stipulation of Settlement and Compromise on July 26, 2001.
Under the proposed settlement, DuPont would pay, for settlement purposes only, $44.5 million to settle the claims of the following proposed class:
Upon final approval of the settlement, all pending actions against DuPont arising from its alleged unlawful marketing and sale of Coumadin, i.e., both federal MDL proceedings and related state actions, would be dismissed. DuPont has already paid the $44.5 million into an escrow account which is earning interest for the benefit of the class.
Under the allocation and distribution plan, the Net Settlement Fund ("NSF") is to be distributed to class members who filed a proof of claim on or before April 30, 2002.
On August 1, 2001, the District Court granted preliminary approval of the settlement and conditionally certified the settlement class. The order approved the plan for providing notice to class members about the settlement terms. In addition, the District Court required any class member who wanted to opt-out of the class, or who wished to object to the proposed settlement but not opt-out of the class, to do so by December 17, 2001.
D. Notice to Class Members and Response to Proposed Settlement
Plaintiffs contracted with Complete Claim Solutions, Inc. ("CCS"), a nationally recognized settlement administrator, to prepare and implement a notice program. CCS published notices targeted at both TPP and consumer class-members; set up a call-center to receive telephone inquiries; prepared, printed, and distributed notice packets for consumers and TPPs who responded to the notice; and designed and developed a website for class members to review and access information about the settlement. Summary notice of the proposed settlement was published over a period of three months beginning in August 2001 in selected publications across the country including USA Today, USA Weekend, and Parade Magazine, as well as Modern Maturity and Readers Digest, in an effort to reach users of Coumadin who are generally over the age of 50. The publications had a combined circulation of approximately 115 million people. The notice was also published in National Underwriter and Benefits and Compensation Solutions.
The summary notice informed class members that a settlement on behalf of the class had been proposed. To make a claim, consumers were required to submit a form, available on the website set up by CCS, containing certain identifying information and proof concerning their use of Coumadin. By January 2002, there had been over 89,000 telephone inquiries made, over 41,803 visits to the websites and 15,127 forms viewed and/or downloaded. An additional 7,273 requests for printed notice packets were received via email. Through June 3, 2002, the administrator had mailed claim forms to 90,926 potential consumer class members and received and processed 48,305 consumer claims and 1,055 TPP claims.
The claims submitted by consumer class members who filed proof of claim on or before the April 30, 2002 deadline totaled $4.3 million (well within the 18% set aside for them in the Preferential Fund). Attorneys' fees and expenses were awarded to counsel for the consumers and the TPPs in the aggregate amount of $10.8 million. Approximately $2.2 was spent on notice and administration. This left $27.2 million in the fund for compensation of TPPs. In addition, by the December 17, 2001 opt-out and objection deadline, a total of 136 consumers and 10 TPPs had opted out of the proposed settlement while 11 individual consumers and consumer groups and two TPPs had filed objections.
Oral arguments by plaintiffs' and objectors' counsel were presented at a fairness hearing held on January 23, 2002. On August 30, 2002, the District Court issued
II. DISCUSSION
We review the decision of the District Court to certify the class and approve the settlement under an abuse of discretion standard. See In re Cendant Corp. Litig., 264 F.3d 201, 231 (3d Cir.2001) ("Cendant"); In re Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. Sales Practices Litig., 148 F.3d 283, 299 (3d Cir.1998) ("Prudential"). An abuse of discretion may be found where the "district court's decision rests upon a clearly erroneous finding of fact, an errant conclusion of law or an improper application of law to fact." In re Gen. Motors Corp. Pick-Up Truck Fuel Tank Prod. Liab. Litig., 55 F.3d 768, 783 (3d Cir.1995) ("General Motors"). We have jurisdiction over this appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
A. Class Certification
To be certified, a class must satisfy the four threshold requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a): (1) numerosity (a "class [so large] that joinder of all members is impracticable"); (2) commonality ("questions of law or fact common to the class"); (3) typicality (named parties' claims or defenses "are typical ... of the class"); and (4) adequacy of representation (representatives "will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class"). See also Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 613, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997). In addition to the threshold requirements of Rule 23(a), parties seeking class certification must show that the action is maintainable under Rule 23(b)(1), (2), or (3). Rule 23(b)(3), the provision at issue in this case, provides for so-called "opt-out" class actions suits. See Amchem, 521 U.S. at 615, 117 S.Ct. 2231. Under Rule 23(b)(3), two additional requirements must be met in order for a class to be certified: (1) common questions must "predominate over any questions affecting only individual members" (the "predominance requirement"), and (2) class resolution must be "superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy" (the "superiority requirement").
Appellants allege several errors in the District Court's certification decision. First, Appellants argue that the Rule 23(a) commonality and Rule 23(b)(3) predominance requirements were not satisfied in this case because of variations in the claims and injuries of the plaintiffs, specifically between and among the consumers and TPPs, as well as differences in the laws of the 50 states which form the basis of several of the class' claims. Appellants also argue that the certified class does not satisfy the Rule 23(a) requirement of adequacy of representation because of the existence of intra-class conflicts of interest, which rendered class counsel unable to represent the interests of a single class. After reviewing Appellants' arguments, and for the reasons discussed below, we find that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in certifying a single nationwide class of consumers and TPPs.
1. Commonality and Predominance
Rule 23(a)(2)'s commonality element requires that the proposed class
As the Supreme Court noted in Amchem,"[p]redominance is a test readily met in certain cases alleging consumer [] fraud or violations of the antitrust laws." Amchem, 521 U.S. at 625, 117 S.Ct. 2231. This case falls squarely into that category: plaintiffs have alleged that DuPont engaged in a broad-based campaign, in violation of federal and state consumer fraud and antitrust laws, to deceive consumers, TPPs, health care professionals, and regulatory bodies into believing that generic warfarin sodium was not an equivalent alternative to Coumadin. These allegations naturally raise several questions of law and fact common to the entire class and which predominate over any issues related to individual class members, including the unlawfulness of DuPont's conduct under federal antitrust laws as well as state law, the causal linkage between DuPont's conduct and the injury suffered by the class members, and the nature of the relief to which class members are entitled.
Moreover, proof of liability for DuPont's conduct under § 2 of the Sherman Act and the Delaware Consumer Fraud statute depends on evidence which is common to the class members, such as evidence that DuPont made misrepresentations about Coumadin and generic warfarin sodium permitting DuPont to monopolize the market for warfarin sodium and charge supracompetitive prices for Coumadin, while discouraging class members to purchase the lower-priced generic competitor.
Appellants raise several objections to the District Court's finding that the certified class satisfies the commonality and predominance requirements. We consider each in turn.
First, several Appellants argue that the District Court erred when it certified a single nationwide class of plaintiffs because variations in and inconsistencies between the state consumer fraud and antitrust laws of the fifty states defeat the commonality and predominance requirements of Rule 23. Appellants rely principally on the Seventh Circuit's decision in In re Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., 288 F.3d 1012 (7th Cir.2002) ("Bridgestone"), a case involving the certification of a nationwide class alleging tort claims arising under the laws of all fifty states. However, Bridgestone is distinguishable from the instant matter because that case concerned certification of a class for purposes of litigation, not a class solely for purposes of settlement, which is at issue in this case. 288 F.3d at 1018.
The difference is key. In certification of litigation classes for claims arising under the laws of the fifty states, we have previously noted that the district court must determine whether variations in state laws present the types of insuperable obstacles which render class action litigation unmanageable. See Prudential, 148 F.3d at 315; see also In re Sch. Asbestos Litig., 789 F.2d 996, 1010 (3d Cir.1986). Thus, for instance, we have stated that a district court should examine whether varying state laws can be grouped by shared elements and applied as a unit in such a way that the litigation class is manageable. Prudential, 148 F.3d at 315; In re Sch. Asbestos Litig., 789 F.2d at 1010. However, when dealing with variations in state laws, the same concerns with regards to case manageability that arise with litigation classes are not present with settlement classes, and thus those variations are irrelevant to certification of a settlement class. See Amchem, 521 U.S. at 620, 117 S.Ct. 2231 (in a settlement-only class certification, "a district court need not inquire whether the case, if tried, would present intractable management problems ... for the proposal is that there be no trial").
Nonetheless, we recognize that problems beyond those of just manageability may exist when a district court is asked to certify a single nationwide class action suit, even for settlement purposes, when claims arise under the substantive laws of the fifty states. Although there may be situations where variations in state laws are so significant so as to defeat commonality and predominance even in a settlement class
Turning to the next argument, several Appellants object to the certification of a single, nationwide class because certain class members may be eligible for treble damages or punitive damages under their state antitrust laws, while other class members, such as those from Tennessee, may be eligible for "full consideration" damages. Under a "full consideration" statute, a consumer can recover the full purchase price paid, as opposed to receiving reimbursement of only the overcharges. As we explained above, however, we cannot say that the District Court abused its discretion in finding that such variations in state law rights and remedies were insufficient to defeat commonality and predominance.
Appellant Hutchinson argues that the District Court erred in when it certified a single class including both fixed co-pay consumers and out-of-pocket consumers. According to Hutchinson, because fixed co-pay consumers suffered no injury or did not suffer the same injury as out-of-pocket consumers whose economic loss varied with the conduct of DuPont, the District Court should either have excluded fixed co-pay consumers from the class or otherwise created a separate sub-class for them. We disagree. As the District Court noted, fixed co-pay consumers did possess viable equitable and common law claims for unjust enrichment as well as claims for injunctive relief against DuPont. Fixed co-pay consumers therefore suffered a cognizable injury as a result of DuPont's allegedly unlawful conduct and posed the same risk to DuPont as did out-of-pocket consumers. Thus, the District Court did not err when it included fixed co-pay consumers with out-of-pocket consumers in the same class.
These cases, as with other similar product liability cases, involved class action claims by consumers who had suffered physical injuries from defective products, which in turn resulted in increased medical costs of covered insureds and increased payments by TPPs. The injuries suffered by TPPs in those cases, unlike the direct and independent harm suffered by TPPs in this matter, were derivative of and dependent on the harm suffered by consumers. Moreover, we note that the Second Circuit, in reversing the district court's decision in Rezulin, recently held that when insurance companies "allege an injury directly to themselves" and "the damages-the excess money plaintiffs paid defendants for the Rezulin that they claim they would not have purchased but for Defendant's fraud-were in no way derivative of damages to a third-party," the insurance companies have standing to directly sue defendants. See Desiano v. Warner-Lambert Co., 326 F.3d 339, 349 (2d Cir.2003) (recognizing the right of health benefit providers to recover from drug companies the amounts that were overpaid due to illegal or deceptive marketing practices). Therefore, Appellants' suggestion that TPPs should have been excluded from the class or categorized in a separate subclass is without merit, as it well recognized that a purchaser in a market where competition has been wrongfully restrained has suffered an antitrust injury, and in this case, TPPs are such purchasers. Moreover, it should be noted that because TPPs have litigable claims against DuPont as injured purchasers, their inclusion was a necessary condition for DuPont to enter into a settlement. Accordingly, the inclusion of TPPs in the settlement created a much larger settlement fund available to satisfy the claims of consumer class members. If TPPs had not been included in the settlement with DuPont, they could have held back and sued consumers in subrogation, thereby doubling the detriment to consumers resulting from the exclusion of TPPs. See In re Synthroid Mktg. Litig., 264 F.3d 712, 717 (7th Cir.2001).
2. Typicality
The District Court found that the proposed class satisfied the requirements of Rule 23(a)(3), which requires that the claims of the named class representatives be "typical of the claims ... of the class." Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(3). The typicality requirement "is designed to align the interests of the class and the class representatives so that the latter will work to benefit the entire class through the pursuit of their own goals." Id. However, typicality, as with commonality, does not require
We find no error in the District Court's determination. Notably, the claims of the representative plaintiffs arise from the same alleged wrongful conduct on the part of DuPont, specifically the alleged misrepresentation and deception regarding the equivalence of generic warfarin sodium and Coumadin. The claims also arise from the same general legal theories. As the District Court noted, the one obvious difference among the various class members is that some are consumers and some are TPPs. However, the named class representatives include members from each group. Accordingly, the District Court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Rule 23's typicality requirement was satisfied.
3. Adequacy of Representation
Rule 23 also requires that the representative class members "fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class." See Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(4). We have previously noted that the adequacy inquiry under Rule 23 "has two components designed to ensure that absentees' interests are fully pursued." See Georgine v. Amchem Prods., Inc., 83 F.3d 610, 630 (3d Cir.1996), aff'd, Amchem, 521 U.S. at 591, 117 S.Ct. 2231. First, the adequacy inquiry "tests the qualifications of the counsel to represent the class." Prudential, 148 F.3d at 313 (internal citations omitted). Second, it seeks "to uncover conflicts of interest between named parties and the class they seek to represent." See id. Several Appellants argue that the interests of TPPs, fixed co-pay consumers, and out-of-pocket consumers were in conflict, and accordingly class counsel was not in a position to adequately represent the class in settlement negotiations. Appellants therefore contend that the District Court should have, at a minimum, certified separate subclasses for consumers and TPPs, or otherwise not certified the class.
Admittedly, as the District Court noted, class counsel could have more skillfully defined the class to recognize the differences between the various groups included within the class. However, we reject Appellants' contention that the interests of the class members were in conflict in such a way that the District Court abused its discretion in certifying a single class including several types of injured plaintiffs. As the District Court found, the named parties, who included consumers and TPPs, as well as consumers from the indirect purchaser states, all shared the same goal of establishing the liability of DuPont, suffered the same injury resulting from the overpayment for warfarin sodium, and sought essentially the same damages by way of compensation for overpayment. More importantly, contrary to Appellants' suggestion, the inclusion of fixed co-pay consumers and TPPs neither prejudiced out-of-pocket consumers nor reduced their settlement fund recovery. All class members had the opportunity to recover 100% of their "Recognized Loss,"
Moreover, we agree with the District Court that any potential for conflicts of interest between and among consumers and TPPs that may have arisen prior to and during the settlement negotiations were adequately represented by the presence of separate counsel for consumers and TPPs. The existence of separate counsel, as well as the operation of the Executive Committee, provided adequate "structural protections to assure that differently situated plaintiffs negotiate for their own unique interests." Georgine, 83 F.3d at 631 (finding inadequate representation of different groups of plaintiffs where no such structural protections existed); see also Amchem, 521 U.S. at 627-28, 117 S.Ct. 2231.
4. Superiority Requirement
Rule 23(b)(3) requires that "a class action [be] superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy." Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3). The Rule sets out several factors relevant to the superiority inquiry.
Notably, there are a potentially large number of class members in this matter, including some 2 million consumers and potentially thousands of TPPs. However, individual consumer class members have little interest in "individually controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions," Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3)(A), because each consumer has a very small claim in relation to the cost of prosecuting a lawsuit. Thus, from the consumers' standpoint, a class action facilitates spreading of the litigation costs among the numerous injured parties and encourages private enforcement of the statutes. See General Motors, 55 F.3d at 784. As the District Court noted, this is less true for TPP members of the class, some of whom have significant individual claims. However, the TPPs had the option to opt-out of the proposed settlement if it was in their interest to bring their claims separately.
Moreover, there were a relatively small number of individual lawsuits pending against DuPont in this matter, which indicated to the District Court that there was a lack of interest in individual prosecution of claims. See Prudential, 148 F.3d at 316; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3)(B). Finally, the District Court found that it was desirable to concentrate litigation in Delaware, where DuPont had its principal place of business and where several initial class action lawsuits had been filed. See Prudential, 148 F.3d at 316; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3)(C).
B. Fairness of the Class Action Settlement
A class action may not be settled under Rule 23(e) without a determination by the district court that the proposed settlement is "fair, reasonable and adequate." General Motors, 55 F.3d at 785 (citations and quotations omitted); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(e)(1)(A). We have on several occasions stressed the importance of Rule 23(e), noting that "the district court acts as a fiduciary who must serve as a guardian of the rights of absent class members." General Motors, 55 F.3d at 785 (citations and quotations omitted); see also Amchem, 521 U.S. at 623, 117 S.Ct. 2231 (noting that the Rule 23(e) inquiry "protects unnamed class members from unjust or unfair settlements affecting their rights when the representatives become fainthearted before the action is adjudicated or are able to secure satisfaction of their individual claims by a compromise") (citations omitted). However, in cases such as this, where settlement negotiations precede class certification, and approval for settlement and certification are sought simultaneously, we require district courts to be even "more scrupulous than usual" when examining the fairness of the proposed settlement. See General Motors, 55 F.3d at 805. This heightened standard is intended to ensure that class counsel has engaged in sustained advocacy throughout the course of the proceedings, particularly in settlement negotiations, and has protected the interests of all class members. See Prudential, 148 F.3d at 317.
This Court has identified nine factors to be considered when determining whether a proposed class action settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. See Girsh v. Jepson, 521 F.2d 153, 157 (3d Cir.1975). These factors are:
Girsh, 521 F.2d at 156-57. The "decision of whether to approve a proposed settlement of a class action is left to the sound discretion of the district court," and we accord great deference to the district court's factual findings. Girsh, 521 F.2d at 156. Additionally, there is an overriding public interest in settling class action litigation, and it should therefore be encouraged. See General Motors, 55 F.3d at 784 ("the law favors settlement, particularly in class actions and other complex cases where substantial judicial resources can be conserved by avoiding formal litigation"); In re Sch. Asbestos Litig., 921 F.2d at 1333 (noting that the court encourages settlement of complex litigation "that otherwise could linger for years").
Before turning to the District Court's application of the Girsh factors, we resolve a challenge raised by Appellants as to whether the proposed settlement is entitled to a presumption of fairness. We have previously directed a district court to apply an initial presumption of fairness when reviewing a proposed settlement where: "(1) the settlement negotiations occurred at arm's length; (2) there was sufficient discovery; (3) the proponents of the settlement are experienced in similar litigation; and (4) only a small fraction of the class objected." Cendant, 264 F.3d at 232 n. 18. Based on the record before it, the District Court determined that the presumption of fairness properly attached because the settlement resulted from intense arms-length negotiations between experienced counsel, came after over three years of active litigation and discovery, and was objected to by only a small fraction of the purported class. Several Appellants argue that even if the four factors were met, the District Court was still not entitled to apply a presumption of fairness because the settlement negotiations preceded the actual certification of the class, and thus the District Court could not assure itself that the negotiations proceeded at arm's length or that class counsel vigorously protected the class' interests. We disagree. As discussed above, we have satisfied ourselves that the Rule 23(e) adequacy of representation requirement was met such that the consumer and TPP plaintiffs, their respective counsel, as well as the structure of the Executive Committee protected the class' interests during the settlement negotiations. Accordingly, we see no reason in this case to depart from the presumption of fairness that attached to the proposed settlement given that the District Court found that the four factors were met.
We now turn to the Girsh factors, keeping in mind the heightened standard we use when reviewing the fairness of a settlement that results from negotiations that preceded formal class certification, as well as the initial presumption of fairness that the District Court found attached to the proposed settlement. For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the settlement was fair.
1. Complexity, Expense, and Likely Duration of Litigation
The first factor "captures the probable costs, in both time and money, of
2. The Reaction of the Class to the Settlement
The second Girsh factor "attempts to gauge whether members of the class support the settlement." Prudential, 148 F.3d at 318. We agree with the District Court that this factor also supports the proposed settlement. After preliminary approval of the settlement, individual notice was mailed to over 12,000 potential TPP class members, and summary notice was published in newspapers and magazines likely to be read by potential class members and which had a combined circulation of 115 million. Of the 1.8 million potential class members, 136 consumers and ten TPP claimants opted out of the settlement, and 11 consumers or groups of consumers and two TPP claimants objected to the proposed settlement. As of June 3, 2002, 48,305 consumer and 1,055 TPP claims had been received and processed by the administrator. The District Court concluded that the insignificant number of objections filed weighed in favor of approving the settlement. Although we have previously noted that the district court should be "cautious about inferring support from a small number of objectors in a sophisticated settlement," General Motors, 55 F.3d at 812 (citations omitted), we agree with the District Court that the small number of TPP objectors is particularly telling as they are sophisticated businesses with very large potential claims.
In addressing this second Girsh factor, we consider a related argument raised by one of the Appellants. Hutchinson argues that the lack of consumer objectors resulted from inadequate notice to the consumers, as compared to the notice provided to TPPs. Rule 23(c)(2) specifies that all members of the class should receive "the best notice practicable under the circumstances, including individual notice to all members who can be identified through reasonable effort." The District Court determined that this requirement was satisfied by publishing summary notice in publications likely to be read by consumer claimants along with a call-center and a website with information and downloadable forms. Hutchinson, however, argues that notice to consumer plaintiffs was inadequate in this case as compared to other large class action suits where individual direct mailing was used. See, e.g., In re Lorazepam & Clorazepate Antitrust Litig., 205 F.R.D. 369, 381 (D.D.C.2002); Cendant, 264 F.3d at 226; In re Synthroid Mktg. Litig., 264 F.3d at 716.
However, even in the absence of any individual notice via direct mail in this matter, we are satisfied that the District Court acted within its discretion in determining that "reasonable effort" was made here to provide "the best notice practicable under the circumstances." See Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(c)(2). In particular, we note that neither the plaintiffs nor DuPont had access to the names and addresses of the multitude of people nationwide who purchased Coumadin because the identity of pharmaceutical purchasers is confidential
3. Stage of Proceedings and Amount of Discovery Completed
The third Girsh factor "captures the degree of case development that class counsel [had] accomplished prior to settlement. Through this lens, courts can determine whether counsel had an adequate appreciation of the merits of the case before negotiating." Cendant, 264 F.3d at 235 (quoting General Motors, 55 F.3d at 813). As the District Court found, this litigation had been pursued by class counsel on several fronts for over three years before negotiation of the settlement. Prior to consolidation by the order of the MDL panel, four separate federal actions had been filed by consumer plaintiffs, and consumers and TPPs pursued state actions in Illinois, California, Tennessee, New York, Alabama, and Wisconsin. The settlement agreement was reached after a year of negotiations which included consultations with experts. Contrary to Hutchinson's assertion that the District Court had virtually nothing to aid its evaluation of the settlement terms, three years of litigation and discovery resulted in hundreds of thousands of documents produced by defendant, numerous depositions, and consultations with experts with which the District Court was familiar. Based on the type and amount of discovery undertaken by the parties, the District Court concluded that class counsel adequately appreciated the merits of the case before negotiating, and we agree that this factor strongly favors approval of the settlement. See Prudential, 148 F.3d at 319.
4. & 5. Risks of Establishing Liability and Damages
These factors survey the potential risks and rewards of proceeding to litigation in order to weigh the likelihood of success against the benefits of an immediate settlement. Cendant, 264 F.3d at 237-39; Prudential, 148 F.3d at 319. After evaluating several possible bars to plaintiffs' success at trial, the District Court concluded that on balance, the fourth and fifth Girsh factors favored settlement. We discern no error in that determination.
6. Risks of Maintaining Class Action Status Through Trial
Because "the prospects for obtaining certification have a great impact on the range of recovery one can expect to reap from the [class] action," General Motors, 55 F.3d at 817, this factor measures the likelihood of obtaining and keeping a class certification if the action were to proceed to trial. A district court retains the authority to decertify or modify a class at any time during the litigation if it proves to be unmanageable. Prudential, 148 F.3d at 321. Although Appellants' concerns about the manageability of a multistate class of consumers and TPPs, as we discussed above, did not pose a problem for the certification of a settlement class, there is a significant risk that such a class would create intractable management problems if it were to become a litigation class, and therefore be decertified. See In re LifeUSA Holding, Inc., 242 F.3d at 147; Georgine, 83 F.3d at 630. We agree with the District Court that the significant risk that the class would be decertified if litigation proceeded weighs in favor of settlement.
7. Ability to Withstand Greater Judgment
The seventh Girsh factor considers "whether the defendants could withstand a
8. & 9. The Range of Reasonableness of Settlement in Light of Best Possible Recovery and All Attendant Risks of Litigation
The last two Girsh factors evaluate whether the settlement represents a good value for a weak case or a poor value for a strong case. The factors test two sides of the same coin: reasonableness in light of the best possible recovery and reasonableness in light of the risks the parties would face if the case went to trial. Prudential, 148 F.3d at 322. In order to assess the reasonableness of a settlement in cases seeking primarily monetary relief, "the present value of the damages plaintiffs would likely recover if successful, appropriately discounted for the risk of not prevailing, should be compared with the amount of the proposed settlement." Id. (citing General Motors, 55 F.3d at 806).
Plaintiff's expert, Dr. French, estimated recoverable damages to be as low as $7.1 million and as high as $133.8 million. The District Court described the methodology utilized by Dr. French to arrive at those figures and concluded his estimate was reasonable.
Based on the $400 million figure, Hutchinson argues that consumers only received 11% of total economic damages, well below the 30%-70% damages recovered in similar pharmaceutical industry class actions. According to Dr. French's figures, however, the $44.5 million settlement fund is approximately 33% of available damages and well within a reasonable settlement range when compared with recovery percentages in other class actions. See Cendant, 264 F.3d at 241 (approving settlement for 36%-37% recovery and noting
On balance, and in light of the presumption of fairness that attaches to the settlement, we find that the District Court adequately addressed the Girsh factors, properly discharged its fiduciary duty to absent class members, and did not abuse its discretion in finding the settlement to be fair and reasonable.
C. Plan of Allocation
Several Appellants object to the proposed allocation of settlement funds under the Plan of Allocation. These arguments overlap substantially with those made with respect to class certification, but to the extent that they were not addressed in our discussion above in Part A, we address them here. These additional arguments can be characterized into two groups, those objecting to the inclusion of TPPs in the Plan of Allocation and those objecting to the inclusion of fixed co-pay consumers in the Plan of Allocation.
With regards to the first contention, several Appellants argue, despite the fact that the District Court noted the priority being given to individual consumers in the structure of the settlement, that the settlement is unfairly skewed in favor of TPPs. Although TPPs are certainly receiving a larger percentage of the fund than are consumers, this does not translate into an unfair allocation. As the District Court noted, TPPs paid 67% of Coumadin costs, while consumers paid for 27%, so TPPs actually bear the greater share of damages. Moreover, the District Court stated that the settlement does not favor TPPs. Rather, it is structured to protect consumers and to create an incentive for them to submit claims. The settlement allows individual consumers preferential access to the first 18% of the Net Settlement Fund to satisfy consumer claims before TPP claimants can recover at all, and if consumer claims exceed that amount, the remainder of the 82% of the NSF is shared between TPPs and consumers on a pro rata basis. Because of this favorable allocation, based on the number of consumer claims the Settlement Administrator has received, all consumers who have filed claims can expect to receive 100% of their Recognized Loss, while TPP's will receive only approximately 35.6% of their Recognized Loss. Moreover, we note that had the TPPs or a subclass of consumers not been included in the settlement distribution, the settlement amount would have presumably been significantly smaller as DuPont would still have been vulnerable to claims from excluded purchasers. Consequently, we agree with the District Court that the inclusion of TPPs in the Plan of Allocation was not unfair to individual consumers.
As for the second contention, several Appellants object to the inclusion of fixed co-pay consumers as equal sharers in the proceeds of settlement. However, by participating in the settlement, all class members, including consumers with fixed co-pays, are releasing equitable and common-law claims for unjust enrichment seeking disgorgement of profits from wrongdoers, and claims for injunctive relief. Although fixed co-pay consumers have not suffered monetary damages, it is appropriate that they receive consideration for the release of the claims they have against DuPont. Because the Plan of Allocation
III. CONCLUSION
Because the class satisfies the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and the settlement is fair to the class, we will affirm the decision of the District Court.
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