For people saying the settlement isn't enough. That's probably true, but it's not a bad settlement as class actions go. Class action litigation has a number of problems, partly because plaintiffs' attorneys working pure contingency have little incentive to see claims all the way through, and partly because judges and juries are skeptical of claims against large, respected companies.
In this case, there were a number of challenges. The first of which was that the DOJ settled with a slap on the wrist.[1] That's a very strong signal to both the court and jurors that the claims aren't a slam-dunk. Second, remember that in a civil case you don't just have to prove that the defendant did something wrong. You have to prove every element of the often multi-facted claim. Finally, there's a lot of back-and-forth with experts. Defendants can afford to hire the world's leading economists to say that the damages were less than claimed. Plaintiffs will have experts, but they're unlikely to be able to front the money for them to do as thorough a job.
$412 million would be over 10% the plaintiffs' experts estimated damages of $3 billion. That's not an atypical recovery in a class action settlement.
[1] Contrast this to the LCD price fixing cases, where the DOJ's levying $500+ million in fines resulted in big civil settlements.
In this case, there were a number of challenges. The first of which was that the DOJ settled with a slap on the wrist.[1] That's a very strong signal to both the court and jurors that the claims aren't a slam-dunk. Second, remember that in a civil case you don't just have to prove that the defendant did something wrong. You have to prove every element of the often multi-facted claim. Finally, there's a lot of back-and-forth with experts. Defendants can afford to hire the world's leading economists to say that the damages were less than claimed. Plaintiffs will have experts, but they're unlikely to be able to front the money for them to do as thorough a job.
$412 million would be over 10% the plaintiffs' experts estimated damages of $3 billion. That's not an atypical recovery in a class action settlement.
[1] Contrast this to the LCD price fixing cases, where the DOJ's levying $500+ million in fines resulted in big civil settlements.