In this article, the second in the CAFA Law Blog’s Guest Commentary series, Katherine Kinsella, President of Kinsella/Novak Communications, Ltd., a leading provider of legal notice in class actions and bankruptcies, writes about the notice requirements under CAFA. Her position requires her to stay abreast of changes in the law, and in particular, CAFA and other class action requirements. Her company, Kinsella/Novak Communications, Inc., has implemented and completed more than 250 notification programs, including large-scale class litigation involving asbestos, pharmaceuticals and tobacco, and she is imminently qualified to discuss the elements and implications of CAFA’s new requirements.

Ms. Kinsella’s article initially introduces the reader to the theoretical purpose behind CAFA’s notice provisions: preventing collusion between opposing counsel when settling class actions, and highlights the practices Congress implemented through CAFA to further this theoretical purpose. She then provides a succinct summary of the elements that make up class notice.
Ms. Kinsella also breaks down the new requirements created by CAFA’s “Consumers Bill of Rights,” which requires each defendant to notify the appropriate state or federal official after a proposed settlement is filed. Ms. Kinsella’s understanding of the new requirements is evident as she explains what constitutes “appropriate notice,” as well as who the “appropriate state or federal official” might be. For an excellent primer on the new requirements for notice of settlements under CAFA – click here and read on.