No Ruling After Objection in Polk County Class-Action Case

Polk County District Judge Jerry Ryan didn’t make a final ruling Wednesday in a class-action settlement  that was challenged by Little Rock attorney Robert Trammell.

Ryan “listened to arguments and took the case under advisement on several technical issues,” Trammell told Arkansas Business Wednesday afternoon. “A decision will come at some future date.”

As reported by Arkansas Business on Monday, Trammell challenged a class-action settlement that he said is unfair to class members and favors the law firms representing them: Keil & Goodson of Texarkana and Taylor Law Partners of Fayetteville.

The terms of the settlement call for the plaintiffs’ firms to receive up to $1.85 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses while the defendant, United Services Automobile Association, will have to set aside $3.4 million to pay potential claims, Trammell said in his Nov. 16 filing.

But the proposed settlement, he said, seems designed to make it difficult for USAA members to file claims — possibly because any money not paid to class members will go back to the insurance company.