Carol M. Perdue v. Lisa Nix Green William D. Motlow…

Summary

The court vacated approval of a class-action settlement involving the PACT Trust Fund because the settlement modified existing PACT contracts and waived statutory rights in a manner prohibited by the governing statute. The court held that the statutory restriction applied regardless of whether the modification was implemented unilaterally or through a purported class settlement, and that the settlement was illegal and void in its entirety. The court remanded for further proceedings. Justice Moore, dissenting, would have affirmed because the statute restricted unilateral rulemaking rather than bilateral settlement agreements; the concurring and dissenting writings otherwise addressed the settlement, attorney fees, and the limits of appellate review.