Lazy Oil Co. v. Witco Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
166 F.3d 581 (1999)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
Lazy Oil Company and other crude-oil sellers (plaintiffs) sued three crude-oil purchasers (defendants) for antitrust violations that allegedly reduced the price of crude oil in the sellers’ region. The court approved a settlement with one purchaser. The class’s attorneys then reached proposed settlements with the other two purchasers. However, Lazy Oil and other sellers formally objected to these proposed settlements, claiming that the settlements favored one type of seller, investor sellers, over another type of seller, producer sellers. The class’s attorneys formally withdrew as counsel for the objectors. The objectors moved to disqualify the class’s attorneys from continuing to represent the remaining class members. The district court denied the objectors’ motion to disqualify. The district court then approved the settlement, finding that it was a fair settlement because the sellers’ claims were weak and would be difficult to prove. The objectors appealed all the rulings to the Third Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Becker, C.J.)
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