Withdrawal settlement in a class action — website accessibility
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For the attention of our clients
Attached is a judgment in which the court ruled that a representative plaintiff in a website-accessibility case who made no special effort, in circumstances where numerous similar actions had been filed, would not receive a substantial incentive award.
The court held:
“Accordingly, having considered all the circumstances, and being satisfied that the applicant and her counsel made no special effort in conducting this proceeding, which consists entirely of repeatedly copying pleadings on the same matter; having found that the applicant’s counsel has already been awarded substantial sums in withdrawals approved in other identical cases heard before me and/or other judges; having found that the applicant, like others, acts as plaintiff in several actions on the same matter; and in the absence of any risk in conducting this proceeding, which concerns a clear breach of a statutory duty, I no longer consider it appropriate to approve the incentive award sought. I find it appropriate to set the applicant’s award at only NIS 500. Accordingly, I do not consider it appropriate to approve the legal fees sought for her counsel, and I set them at a total of NIS 5,000.”