The Federal Trade Commission today announced it is issuing a second Federal Register notice as the next step in its proposal to study the effectiveness of class action settlement notice programs.
The notice continues the clearance process for the study, which will examine consumer understanding of class action settlement notifications. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, federal agencies must obtain clearance from the Office of Management and Budget before they can collect certain information for studies.
In May 2015, as part of the Commission’s Class Action Fairness Project, the FTC announced its intention to study consumer perceptions and the effectiveness of such notifications. In November 2016, as part of that same project, the FTC issued orders to eight claims administrators, requiring them to provide information on procedures they use to notify class members about settlements and the response rates for various methods of notification. The Commission received two public comments in response to the initial Federal Register notice.
The FTC is now publishing a second Federal Register notice to address the initial public comments received and to inform the public that it is continuing to seek OMB clearance to conduct the study. The Commission will be accepting public comments on the current notice for 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Instructions for filing comments appear in the “Supplementary Information” section of the notice.
The Commission vote approving publication of the Federal Register notice was 2-0. The staff contact is Robin Moore, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-2167.
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