Opinion Approving Settlement - Public Interest Law Center of ...

Case 2:94-cv-04048-ER Document 330 Filed 09/19/2005 Page 34 of 51additional factors given the “sea-change [which has occurred] inthe nature of class actions.” Prudential, 148 F.3d at 323.These additional factors include:Id.[1] the maturity of the underlyingsubstantive issues, as measured byexperience in adjudicatingindividual actions, the developmentof scientific knowledge, the extentof discovery on the merits, andother factors that bear on theability to assess the probableoutcome of a trial on the merits ofliability and individual damages;[2] the existence and probableoutcome of claims by other classesand subclasses; [3] the comparisonbetween the results achieved by thesettlement for individual class orsubclass members and the resultsachieved-or likely to beachieved-for other claimants; [4]whether class or subclass membersare accorded the right to opt outof the settlement; [5] whether anyprovisions for attorneys’ fees arereasonable; and [6] whether theprocedure for processing individualclaims under the settlement is fairand reasonable.As this Court recognized in Schwartz v. Dallas CowboysFootball Club, Ltd., 157 F. Supp. 2d 561 (E.D. Pa. 2001)(Robreno, J.),Distilled to their essence,Girsh-Prudential compels courts toobtain satisfactory answers to thefollowing questions:1. What benefit did the litigationconfer upon the putative class34