Brooks v. Thomson Reuters Corporation
- Edward Chen
- 3:21-cv-01418
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Cat Brooks v. Thomson Reuters, Judge Chen required no further action after reviewing disclosures about a settlement administrator’s vendor relationship.
The order directly affects Angeion and the parties in the case. Its future disclosure expectations apply to Angeion, other settlement administrators, and parties involved in proposed settlements.
What happened
In Cat Brooks, et al. v. Thomson Reuters Corporation, the court reviewed a supplemental declaration about Angeion’s relationship with Blackhawk, the vendor for prepaid Mastercards.
The court said the information was sufficient and would not require further action from the parties or Angeion. It remained concerned about payments that vendors make to class-action administrators and possible conflicts of interest.
Judge Edward Chen said future settlement administrators should fully disclose related financial arrangements, and parties should ask administrators about those arrangements.
The detailed version
- Brooks v. Thomson Reuters Corporation · No. 3:21-cv-01418
- Edward Chen
- Nov. 17, 2025
Background
The court received the Supplemental Weisbrot Declaration and exhibits concerning Angeion’s relationship with Blackhawk, the vendor for the prepaid Mastercards. The order identifies the matter as involving settlement administration and refers to Docket Nos. 288 and 291.
Court’s action
Based on the supplemental information, the court stated that it would not require further action from the parties or Angeion. The court nevertheless said that, in the future, Angeion and any other settlement administrator should fully disclose financial arrangements with third parties connected to administering a settlement. The court gave examples including disclosures made when bidding to become a settlement administrator and disclosures to the court considering the proposed settlement. The court also said the parties should affirmatively ask the settlement administrator about such arrangements.
Concern identified by the court
The court stated that it remained concerned about compensation paid by vendors to class-action administrators and the possibility of conflicting interests. The order does not decide the underlying claims between the plaintiffs and Thomson Reuters Corporation.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.