Third Circuit Affirms Order Suspending Settlement Claim Processing Deadlines

PHILADELPHIA - The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a district court did not abuse its discretion when suspended claim processing deadlines for the Nationwide Class Action Settlement Agreement after the AHP Settlement Trust received an unexpectedly high number of claims. In re: Diet Drugs Products Liability Litigation, Nos. 02-4613, 02-4616, 03-1006 (3rd Cir.).

The federal appellate court's Feb. 18 unpublished opinion stated that the class members subjected themselves to the district court's jurisdiction by allowing it to determine what constituted good cause for the extension of the deadline.

In 1999, American Home Products, the manufacturer of the diet …