Opinion ID: 789039
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: the ability of the defendants to withstand a greater judgment;

Text: 88 (8) the range of reasonableness of the settlement fund in light of the best possible recovery; 89 (9) the range of reasonableness of the settlement fund to a possible recovery in light of all the attendant risks of litigation. 90 Grinnell, 495 F.2d at 463 (citations omitted). 91 1. Complexity, Expense and Likely Duration of Litigation 92 Federal antitrust cases are complicated, lengthy, and bitterly fought. See Weseley v. Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, 711 F.Supp. 713, 719 (E.D.N.Y.1989). Few areas of federal antitrust law are more confusing than the law that governs tying arrangements. Herbert Hovenkamp, Tying Arrangements and Class Actions, 36 VAND. L. REV. 213, 213 (1983). The district court concluded that this case would have taken three months to try and several years for appellate review. Visa Check III, 297 F.Supp.2d at 510. None of the appellants argue that this case was uncomplicated or would have resulted in a short trial. 2. Reaction of the Class to the Settlement 93 On the whole, the class appears to be overwhelmingly in favor of the Settlement. Only eighteen class members out of five million objected to the Settlement. Id. at 511. If only a small number of objections are received, that fact can be viewed as indicative of the adequacy of the settlement. 4 NEWBERG § 11.41, at 108; see also D'Amato, 236 F.3d 78, 86-87 (holding that the district court properly concluded that 18 objections from a class of 27,883 weighed in favor of settlement). This Court is certainly aware that [l]ack of objection by the great majority of claimants means little when the point of objection is limited to a few whose interests are being sacrificed for the benefit of the majority. Super Spuds, 660 F.2d at 16. But here, the absence of substantial opposition is indicative of class approval, since every member of the class in Reyn's and Membership Rules is also a member of the instant class. 94 3. Stage of Proceedings and Amount of Discovery Completed 95 If all discovery has been completed and the case is ready to go to trial, the court obviously has sufficient evidence to determine the adequacy of settlement. 4 NEWBERG § 11:45, at 129. Here, plaintiffs entered into settlement only after a thorough understanding of their case. As noted earlier, extensive discovery proceedings spanning over seven years and millions of pages of documents preceded the Settlement. Visa Check III, 297 F.Supp.2d at 511 n. 8. The parties also underwent summary judgment proceedings and mediation before they struck a deal at the courthouse steps. Id. at 508, 511. Certainly, a substantial amount of work had been completed, leaving relatively few unknowns prior to trial. 96 4. Risks of Class Prevailing (Establishing Liability, Establishing Damages, Maintaining the Class through Trial) 97 Characterizing the defendants'Honor All Cards policy as having at least some pro-competitive features, the district court concluded that establishing liability was no sure thing for the plaintiffs. Id. at 511. Indeed, the history of antitrust litigation is replete with cases in which antitrust plaintiffs succeeded at trial on liability, but recovered no damages, or only negligible damages, at trial, or on appeal. In re NASDAQ Market-Makers Antitrust Litig., 187 F.R.D. 465, 476 (S.D.N.Y.1998); see, e.g., United States Football League v. Nat'l Football League, 644 F.Supp. 1040, 1042 (S.D.N.Y.1986) ([T]he jury chose to award plaintiffs only nominal damages, concluding that the USFL had suffered only $1.00 in damages as a result of the NFL's unlawful conduct.), aff'd, 842 F.2d 1335, 1377 (2d Cir.1988). That said, we must acknowledge that the Government's successful prosecution of Government's Membership Rules improved plaintiffs' likelihood of success in this case. Yet, on balance, it is certainly fair to conclude that even if the plaintiffs had prevailed in establishing their tying claim, they would have faced significant challenges in proving damages. Visa Check III, 297 F.Supp.2d at 511. 24 98