From Objection to Intervention:

Rethinking Class Settlement Fairness in the Age of Reverse Auctions

By Geri Green, Esq.

Class and collective action settlements are under heightened scrutiny in California. Recent cases—including Edwards, Amaro, and Hamilton—signal a shift away from rubber-stamp approvals toward deeper judicial oversight, narrower releases, and greater openness to intervention.

In a new article, Mediator Geri Green, Esq. unpacks the growing role of reverse auctions in wage-and-hour, consumer, and PAGA litigation—and what this means for plaintiffs’ counsel, defendants, and mediators alike.

Key Takeaways:

• Courts are more willing to permit intervention when overlapping claims exist.
• Overly broad releases are increasingly disfavored.
• Reverse auction dynamics now demand vigilance from all sides.

As a full-time mediator since 2015, Geri Green brings deep experience in employment, business, real estate, insurance, and class matters. Her insight into fairness dynamics and settlement strategy makes her a trusted neutral for high-stakes disputes.

Geri Green, Esq.

Geri Green, Esq. is a full-time mediator, arbitrator, discovery referee, and special master who brings decades of litigation and trial experience to her dispute resolution practice. After a distinguished career as a trial and appellate attorney, she transitioned to full-time neutral work, applying her courtroom expertise to help parties resolve complex disputes efficiently and fairly. Since 2012, Ms. Green has successfully mediated, arbitrated, and presided over nearly 1,000 matters across a wide range of practice areas, including personal injury, insurance coverage, medical malpractice, employment, business and commercial disputes, real estate, civil rights, probate, elder abuse, and family law.