Julian Perlman

Subscribe to all posts by Julian Perlman

The Latest on the Use of Retained Asset Accounts to Pay Life Insurance Benefits

By Deborah Renner and Julian Perlman on July 21, 2014 Posted in ERISA, Insurance

In Merrimon v. Unum Life Insurance Co. of America, 2014 WL 2960024 (1st Cir. July 2, 2014), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit became the third circuit court to approve an insurance company’s use of a retained asset account (RAA) to pay life insurance benefits where the use of an RAA was expressly … Continue Reading

Court Certifies TILA Class Action Lead by Familiar Plaintiff / Counsel Team

By Julian Perlman on November 14, 2013 Posted in Class Certification, Rule 23 Requirements

A New York Federal court has certified a class action against Ann Taylor LOFT for violations of the Truth in Lending Act (see Opinion & Order in Kelen v. World Financial Network National Bank, Case No. 12-CIV-5024). Lead Plaintiff Ester Kelen brought suit on behalf of herself and others similarly situated, alleging that the account … Continue Reading

California Rejects a Class that Includes Uninjured Class Members

By Julian Perlman on October 31, 2013 Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Class Definition, Settlements

A California federal court has rejected a proposed settlement to a class action over alleged material omissions in Option Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loan documentation (Order Denying Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Settlement Approval in Peel, et al. v. BrooksAmerica Mortgage Corp., et al.). Lead plaintiffs and defendants, which included several divisions of Washington Mutual, agreed to … Continue Reading

A Class Action By Any Other Name Is Still a Class Action….

By Julian Perlman on October 28, 2013 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

In a case with interesting implications for class action practitioners, the Seventh Circuit recently ruled against plaintiff Addison Automatics (Addison) in its attempt to dodge federal court jurisdiction (see Addison Automatics, Inc. v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Co., case no. 13-2729). Addison had previously brought and settled a class action against Domino Plastics Co. (Domino) over … Continue Reading

Wal-Mart Prevails in Credit Card Class Battle Over Practice of Collecting Addresses and Phone Numbers

By Julian Perlman on October 8, 2013 Posted in Class Actions Privacy, Consumer Class Action

Editor’s Note: This post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. In a victory for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., a federal district court judge has refused to certify a Rule 23(b)(3) class in a lawsuit for violation of California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 1747 et seq., available here. Plaintiff … Continue Reading

New Jersey Judge Certifies TCPA Junk Fax Class

By Julian Perlman on October 3, 2013 Posted in Advertising Class Action, Class Certification, Consumer Class Action, TCPA

In a significant decision for companies that engage in electronic marketing, a New Jersey federal judge certified a 23(b)(3) class claiming violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”; 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(C)). In A&L Industries Inc. v. P. Cipollini Inc., case no. 2:12-cv-07598 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, … Continue Reading

Opening the Flood Gates? California Voters May Create Presumption of Harm in Privacy Breach Cases

By Julian Perlman on September 30, 2013 Posted in Class Actions Privacy, Data Breach

California has moved one step closer towards amending its Constitution to create a presumption of harm whenever personal data is shared without a consumer’s express opt-in, a change that would clear a significant hurdle to many privacy breach lawsuits. On Thursday, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen approved steps necessary to bring the Personal Privacy … Continue Reading