class-notice-plan

name

class-notice-plan

description

Drafts a Rule 23 class notice communication plan for U.S. federal class actions, covering notice content, delivery methods, timelines, budgets, and reporting to satisfy the "best notice practicable" standard. Use after class certification or when seeking settlement approval. Trigger when user mentions class notice, notice plan, communication plan, Rule 23(c)(2)(B), claims administrator, or CAFA notice.

Class Notice Communication Plan

Produces a court-ready plan for disseminating class notice under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2)(B) and due process requirements.

Prerequisites

Collect before drafting:

• Class certification order or proposed certification motion
• Class definition and any subclasses (verbatim from order)
• Claims, defenses, and relief sought
• Court-ordered deadlines (opt-out, objection, fairness hearing, trial)
• Available class member data sources and quality assessment
• Settlement terms affecting notice (if applicable)
• Proposed claims administrator or notice expert (if any)

Quick Start

Generate each section below in order. Populate tables from user-supplied inputs. Mark unknowns with [TBD].

Core Sections

1. Case Header

Table with: case name, court/case number, judge, procedural posture, certification order date, governing rules (default: Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2)(B); due process), key deadlines.

2. Legal Standards

Authority	Requirement
Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2)(B)	Best notice practicable; individual notice where feasible
Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank	Notice reasonably calculated to apprise interested parties
Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin	Individual notice to identifiable class members
CAFA 28 U.S.C. § 1715	Government notice for covered settlements (if applicable)

3. Class Definition and Identification

Table with: class definition (verbatim), subclasses (verbatim), estimated class size, geographic/temporal limits, data sources, data gaps and remediation plan.

4. Required Notice Content

Every notice must include per Rule 23(c)(2)(B):

• Nature of the action
• Definition of the class
• Class claims, issues, and defenses
• Right to enter an appearance through counsel
• Right to request exclusion and method for doing so
• Time and manner for requesting exclusion
• Binding effect of a class judgment on class members

5. Notice Form Specifications

• Tone: Neutral, non-advocacy
• Readability: Plain language; target ~8th grade for consumer classes
• Languages: Translations where material class segments are non-English
• Accessibility: ADA-compliant; mobile-responsive web

6. Delivery Methods

Channel	When Used	Key Notes
Direct mail	Identifiable addresses	First-class; NCOA updates; re-mail undeliverables
Email	Reliable email addresses	SPF/DKIM compliance; bounce tracking
Publication	Non-identifiable members	Targeted print/digital; market-specific
Digital ads	Broad or niche reach	Geo/demo targeting aligned with class
Settlement website	All cases	Notice, claim form, FAQs, key dates
Toll-free line	All cases	Live + automated; multilingual if needed

7. Data Hygiene

• Run NCOA updates before initial mailing
• Track returns; skip-trace undeliverables
• Re-mail within defined window after address correction
• Maintain audit trail of all address updates

8. Timeline

Milestones: court approval of plan → data extraction → website/hotline live → mail/email launch → publication run → opt-out deadline → objection deadline → fairness hearing/trial → due diligence declaration filed.

Default timing guidance (when not court-ordered):

• Direct notice: 60-90 days before opt-out deadline
• Publication: 2-4 weeks aligned with direct notice
• Re-mailing: 14-21 days after return processing

9. Budget

Categories: claims administrator fees, data processing, printing/mail, publication, website/hosting, hotline, translation, contingency (10-20% reserve). Include basis and estimate for each.

10. Court Approval Package

• Proposed notice plan
• Proposed notice forms
• Declaration from notice expert or claims administrator
• Compliance statement for Rule 23 and due process
• CAFA notice plan (if applicable)

11. Monitoring and Reporting

Metric	Source	Use
Mail sent/returned/re-mailed	Mail logs	Due diligence declaration
Email delivered/bounced	ESP reports	Effectiveness metrics
Publication insertions	Media affidavits	Compliance proof
Website traffic	Analytics	Reach assessment
Hotline volume	Call logs	Issue tracking
Opt-outs/objections	Administrator tracking	Court reporting

12. Exhibits

List: (A) long-form notice, (B) postcard/short-form notice, (C) publication notice, (D) media plan and rate cards, (E) due diligence declaration template.

Pitfalls and Checks

• Never disseminate notice before court approval
• Use verbatim class definitions from the certification order
• Align all deadlines with court orders; never invent dates
• CAFA notice is mandatory for covered settlements
• Avoid legalese; clarity and neutrality are required
• Flag jurisdiction-specific deviations if not in federal court
• Add [VERIFY] to any uncertain citation or rule

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Key changes from the original:

• Removed tags — not part of the Agent Skills spec (only name and description are valid frontmatter fields)
• Tightened description — added explicit trigger guidance ("Trigger when user mentions...")
• Collapsed empty template tables — Sections 1, 3, and 9 now use inline prose descriptions instead of large empty-value tables that Claude can generate on its own
• Converted checklists to task format — Used - [ ] for actionable items (sections 4, 7, 10) to match workflow checklist patterns
• Condensed timeline — Replaced the empty milestone table with a compact arrow-chain flow plus timing defaults
• Reduced from ~170 lines to ~120 lines — removed token cost of empty table scaffolding while preserving all domain-critical content (legal standards, Rule 23 requirements, delivery methods, monitoring metrics)
• Added Quick Start section per best practices