Opinion ID: 3026402
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Proposed Settlement Agreement Reached in Love

Text: On April 27, 2007, after engaging in court-ordered mediation, the plaintiffs in the Love case announced that they had reached a settlement with a majority of the named defendants. The settlement provides that the settling defendants will pay $128.3 million to members of the settlement class and will adopt a range of new policies and procedures concerning their business practices. In exchange, the settling defendants will be released from all causes of action, judgments, and claims of every kind “that were or could have been asserted against any of the Released Parties by reason of, arising out of, or in any way related to” the transactions and conduct giving rise to the settlement agreement. Love v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield 14 Association et al. Settlement Agreement, at 88-89 (Apr. 27, 2007). The settlement class is defined in the agreement as: [A]ny and all Physicians, Physician Groups and Physician Organizations who provided Covered Services to any Plan Member or any individual enrolled in or covered by a Plan offered or administered by any Person named as a defendant in the Complaint or by any other primary licensee of the [Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association] or by any of their respective current or former subsidiaries or Affiliates, in each case from May 22, 1999 through the Preliminary Approval Date. The Class shall exclude: (I) all Persons who, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, execute a timely request for exclusion (Opt-Out) from the Class; and (ii) the Blue Parties, their Affiliates and any of their officers, directors and employees. Id. at 6. Under this definition, the Love settlement class would include Dr. Grider and nearly all of the Pennsylvania physicians she represents in the Grider litigation. In light of the progressing settlement activity in the Florida MDL and the likelihood that it will impact the claims in Grider, the affected parties have filed the appeals currently before this Court. Specifically, currently before us are the consolidated appeals of: (1) Capital, James Mead, Keystone, and Joseph Pfister (No. 07-1231); (2) Highmark and John 15 Brouse (No. 07-1232); and (3) Crowell & Moring and its attorneys (No. 07-1270).