The judge's decision in the private class-action litigation has no effect on the separate federal antitrust suit in Washington.

As a lawyer, he specialized in class-action litigation involving securities.

This case is unrelated to separate class-action litigation brought against Block over its high-interest loans.

"The $440 million extra that we got for stockholders," he said, "is the largest settlement in the history of securities class-action litigation."

"It's going to be a model for future class-action litigation," he said.

Experts in class-action litigation were skeptical about the suit.

The company has been battered by industrywide oversupply and class-action litigation questioning financial statements.

The investigation agency has also contacted a number of plaintiff lawyers involved in class-action litigation against the brokerage firm.

Companies found to have violated federal antitrust law could be subject to criminal fines and civil class-action litigation.

If they had not met the deadline, thousands of cases in the class-action litigation could have been sent back to courthouses nationwide.