Opinion ID: 3044284
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: The issue before us is whether the District Court abused its discretion in finding Appellants in contempt for violating the terms of a prior Settlement Agreement. Underlying this overarching issue is a complex, twelve-year-old, multidistrict litigation; a related multidistrict litigation pending in another federal district court; and whether the District Court reasonably interpreted the Settlement Agreement in the first action.
In 2000, a number of physicians and physician associations initiated a group of class actions against various providers of health plans, which were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation and assigned to the Southern District of Florida (“District Court”). In re Managed Care Litig., No. 1:00-md-01334 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 17, 2000) (“MDL 1334”). The parties settled that lawsuit in 2005, resulting in a Settlement Agreement and an Order issued by the Southern District of Florida approving that Settlement Agreement.