On December 31, 2014, in Campion v. Old Republic Protection Co., the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed as moot a putative class representative's appeal after the representative settled his individual claims against the defendant with prejudice, even though he expressly reserved the right to appeal the putative class claims in the settlement agreement (No. 12-56784, (9th Cir. Dec. 31, 2014)).

Plaintiff Douglas Campion brought a class action against defendant Old Republic, alleging that Old Republic sold home warranty plans and then arbitrarily denied claims made by Campion and other policyholders in order to cheat them out of benefits owed under their policies. The district court denied Campion's motion for class certification and later granted Old Republic's motion for partial summary judgment. The district court also denied Campion's motion to amend the complaint. Campion and Old Republic subsequently reached a settlement agreement, in which Campion's claims were dismissed with prejudice in exchange for their full amount. The parties then filed a joint motion and stipulation for dismissal with the district court. The settlement agreement expressly reserved Campion's right to appeal the district court's order denying class certification and any other order in the case. After he settled his individual claims, Campion appealed several of the district court's orders.

The Ninth Circuit dismissed Campion's appeal as moot because Campion released all of his claims against Old Republic and no longer had a personal stake in the litigation. As to the settlement agreement's provision expressly reserving Campion's right to appeal the putative class claims, the court determined that the provision made no difference in the analysis.

The court rejected Campion's argument that his continued interest in the matter as a private attorney general was sufficient to allow him to maintain the appeal. The Ninth Circuit explained that a putative class representative who has settled his individual claims can bring an appeal only if he retains a financial interest in class certification. In the leading case on the issue, Narouz v. Charter Communications, LLC, the class representative settled his individual claims and then sought class certification for settlement purposes only (591 F.3d 1261 (9th Cir. 2010)). The district court denied the motion for class certification, after which the class representative filed a stipulation and request for dismissal as to all of his individual claims. The representative then appealed the denial of class certification. The appeal in Narouz was not moot because the class representative was entitled to an award enhancement fee if the district court's decision was reversed and the class claims were advanced. Because Narouz still had a financial interest in the outcome of the motion for class certification, he was able to appeal the order. In this case, Campion did not retain a financial interest in the litigation under the terms of his settlement agreement. Therefore, he could not appeal the district court's orders, and the Ninth Circuit dismissed his appeal as moot.

Counsel practicing in the Ninth Circuit should be aware that a putative class representative who settles his individual claims and no longer has a financial interest in the litigation may not appeal orders relating to the class action.