SCM NEWS & OPINIONS

Tennille v. Western Union Co., -F.3d-, 2014 WL 7240693 (10th Cir. Dec. 22, 2014)

A Rule 7 appeal bond cannot cover costs of notifying class members of an appeal, or administrative costs in maintaining a settlement pending appeal. Several class members had objected to a settlement of claims against Western Union relating to how it handled failed wire transfers. The district court overruled their objections, certified the class, approved the settlement, and entered final judgment. The district court’s order required the objectors to post a bond of over $1 million in order to pursue an appeal of their objections, covering three categories of costs: $647,674 to send class members notice of the appeal, $334,620 in administrative costs to maintain the settlement pending appeal, and $25 for “printing and copying.” The Court decreased the amount of the bond to $5,000, which it deemed to be the reasonable cost of printing and copying.