casemark/class-notice-plan

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