Archives: Class Action Trends

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No Supreme Court Review of Moldy Washer Cases

Paul KarlsgodtBy Paul Karlsgodt on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Issue Certification
Earlier today, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in two highly anticipated appeals of decisions by the Sixth and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals to grant class certification over breach of warranty claims involving allegedly defective washing machines.  The denial of cert in Butler v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., Nos. 11-8029, 12-8030 (7th Cir., Aug. 22, … Continue Reading

Those Blasted Exclusions! Court Rules that Notice of TCPA Exclusion in Renewal Policy was Valid

By C. Zachary Rosenberg on Posted in Class Action Trends, Insurance, Ohio, Settlements
Last week, the Illinois Court of Appeals released an opinion ruling that Cincinnati Insurance Company has no obligation to contribute an additional $4 million to a settlement of a class action claim brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).  Windmill Nursing Pavilion Ltd. v. Cincinnati Insurance Co. et al., 2013 IL App (1st) 122431 … Continue Reading

Karlsgodt to Lead CLE on Rule 23(f) Class Certification Appeals

Casie CollignonBy Casie Collignon on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Events
The head of BakerHostetler’s national class action practice, Paul Karlsgot, will lead a CLE webinar that Strafford is hosting on Thursday, February 6, titled “Rule 23(f) Class Certification Appeals: Pursuing or Challenging Interlocutory Review.” This CLE live web seminar will provide guidance to class litigators for complying with the strict procedural requirements of Rule 23(f) when … Continue Reading

Securities Class Action Filings Up In 2013, But Could The Supreme Court Burst Their Bubble In 2014?

Emily MyersBy Emily Myers on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification
Last week, NERA Economic Consulting released its annual report, “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2013 Full-Year Review.” The report showed that in 2013, there were increases in both the number of federal securities class actions filed and the average settlement amount. However, these trends might not be on the rise for long. Despite … Continue Reading

Back to Google’s Backyard: Forum and Venue Clause Enforced to Dismiss Putative Class Action

By Julian Darwall on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Actions Privacy, Uncategorized
For most corporations, standard forum and venue “home court advantage” clauses are par for the course.  For companies with an expansive reach like Google’s, they are essential. Google has long included these clauses in its standard terms of use, and courts have enforced them to dismiss potentially expensive cases at the earliest stage of litigation. The … Continue Reading

Tax Court Rules that Payments by Tobacco Distributor to Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement Qualified Settlement Fund Not Deductible Until Paid

By Jennifer Benda on Posted in Class Action Trends, Settlements
In Suriel v. Comm’r, 141 T.C. No. 16 (Dec. 4, 2013), the Tax Court ruled that, under the specific facts in this case, the economic performance rules under IRC Section 461(h), permitting a tax deduction for certain liabilities when a liability is fixed and before the liability is actually paid, did not trump the qualified … Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Review Sixth Circuit’s Reinstatement of ERISA “Stock-Drop” Class Action

Elliot MorrisonPatrick T. LewisBy Elliot Morrison and Patrick T. Lewis on Posted in Class Action Trends, ERISA, Rule 12 Motions to Dismiss, Securities
The Supreme Court recently agreed to resolve a circuit split on the pleading requirements for claims that ERISA fiduciaries imprudently invested employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) assets in the stock of the employer—so-called “stock-drop” cases.  Under the “Moench presumption,” named after Moench v. Robertson, 62 F.3d 553 (3d Cir. 1995), courts presume that investments of … Continue Reading

Ohio Appellate Court Rejects Mortgage Servicing Class Action, Finds Foreclosure Actions Are Not “Consumer Transactions” Under The Consumer Sales Practices Act

By Jonathon Korinko on Posted in Class Action Trends, Ohio
Yesterday, the Eighth District Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action raising claims against a noteholder, mortgage servicer, and law firm under Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act (“CSPA”).  In Glazer v. Chase Home Finance L.L.C., 2013-Ohio-5589 (Ohio App. 2013), the Eighth District held that servicing defaulted mortgage loans is not … Continue Reading

Casie Collignon to Present Program On Class Settlement Objections

Patrick T. LewisBy Patrick T. Lewis on Posted in Class Action Trends, Settlements
Addressing class action settlement objections–including those made by so-called “professional” objectors, government agencies, and public interest groups–has become an increasingly important part of any class action litigator’s job.  On January 9th, our co-editor, Casie Collignon, and Bruce D. Greenburg of Lite DePalma Greenberg in Newark, N.J., will teach a CLE program that will review the trends in this area and outline strategies that counsel … Continue Reading

California Rejects a Class that Includes Uninjured Class Members

Julian PerlmanBy Julian Perlman on 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

Basic Is Anything But: Courts Continue to Wrangle with the Fraud-on-the-Market Presumption

Jessie M. GabrielBy Jessie M. Gabriel on Posted in Class Action Trends, Predominance, Rule 23 Requirements, Securities
Co-authors:  Mark Kornfeld and Deborah Renner Editors’ Note:  This post has also been published as a BakerHostetler Client Alert. It has been 25 years since the Supreme Court announced the fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance in Basic Inc. v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224 (1988).  Yet many courts, including the Supreme Court itself, continue to struggle in … Continue Reading

Second Circuit Enforces Class Action Waiver in FLSA Case Under AMEX

John LewisBy John Lewis on Posted in Class Action Trends, Employment
Editors’ Note:  This post was previously published on Baker’s Employment Class Action blog, and is reprinted with permission. The Sutherland v. Ernst & Young case raised a now familiar question and the Second Circuit gave an answer in keeping up with recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent.  The question was whether an employee could invalidate a … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Reaffirms Certification of Defective Washing Machine Class on Remand From Supreme Court

By Mark Johnson on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Commonality, Predominance, Typicality
Co-author: Rand McClellan Editors’ Note:  This post is also a Baker Class Action Alert. In a closely watched decision after remand by the Supreme Court, on July 18, 2013, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld for a second time the class certification order in In re Whirlpool Front-Loading Washer Prods. Liab. Litig. (“Whirlpool II”) … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Decides American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant – Worth The Wait

John LewisBy John Lewis on Posted in Antitrust, Arbitration, Class Action Trends
Co-author: Dustin Dow Editors’ Note: This post was originally published on Baker’s Employment Class Action blog, www.employmentclassactionreport.com, and is reprinted with permission. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the contention that a class arbitration waiver was unenforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) when the cost of arbitrating individually would be greater than any potential recovery.  … Continue Reading

Zip Code Cases Alive and Well – Bed Bath & Beyond and Guitar Center Hit with Putative Class Actions

By Yulia Fradkin on Posted in Class Action Trends, Data Breach
In March, we blogged about Tyler v. Michaels Stores, a recent Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling, holding that zip codes are personally identifiable information and disavowing data mining by zip code. That decision threatened and continues to threaten to bring forth a deluge of data mining litigation against retailers in Massachusetts, much like Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma … Continue Reading

Clapper and Data Breach Litigation

Rand L. McClellanBy Rand L. McClellan on Posted in Class Action Trends, Data Breach
In Clapper v. Amnesty International USA,  133 S. Ct. 1138 (2013), the Supreme Court recently held that individuals claiming injury from the federal government’s right to conduct electronic surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA),  50 U.S.C. § 1881a, lacked standing to pursue their claims.  In reaching its holding, the Court made statements that should … Continue Reading

New Life for Class Arbitration, or Strategic Mistake in an Isolated Case?

Paul KarlsgodtBy Paul Karlsgodt on Posted in Arbitration, Class Action Trends
Editors’ Note:  This post originally appeared in Paul’s blog, www.classactionblawg.com, and is reprinted with permission.  For additional insights into the Oxford Health Decision, please see John Lewis’s commentary at the BakerHosetler Employment Class Action Blog. The Supreme Court issued its decision today in the first of two arbitration-related class action cases on the 2012-13 docket.  Today’s decision bucks what had been a … Continue Reading

Courts Are Liberally Construing Litigation Insurance Coverage for Class Action Defenses and So Should Defendants

By Judy Selby on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Insurance, Practice Pointers
Co-authored by: Zack Rosenberg Although the Supreme Court continues to set the bar for class certification higher and higher, plaintiffs’ attorneys continue to file class action lawsuits of questionable merit.  The litigation costs required to gain dismissal of even groundless lawsuits are not insubstantial, and a defendant’s inability to fund a vigorous defense can make … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Rejects Efforts to Avoid CAFA Jurisdiction

By Deborah Renner on Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Class Action Trends
Editors’ Note:  This post is a joint submission to this blog and rennerclassactions.com. In The Standard Fire Insurance Co.v. Knowles, No. 11-1450, a unanimous decision yesterday written by Justice Breyer, the Supreme Court held that a plaintiff cannot stipulate to an amount of damages for a putative class in order to avoid federal jurisdiction under … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Allows Class Certification Despite Attorney Misconduct

By Eric Fish on Posted in Adequacy of Representation, Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Rule 23 Requirements
Do you ever wonder how plaintiffs’ class action lawyers find their class representatives?  And whether there is any possibility of defeating class certification if their efforts are sleazy or downright unethical?  In the recent decision of Reliable Money Order, Inc. v. McKnight Sales Co., Inc., —F.3d —, No. 12-2599, 2013 WL 85937 (7th Cir. Jan. … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court To Review Fifth Circuit’s SLUSA Decision in Stanford Ponzi Scheme Case

Shawn P. HoughBy Shawn P. Hough on Posted in Class Action Trends, Securities
Co-author: Frank Oliva The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to examine the “in connection with” requirement of the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (“SLUSA”) in Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, No. 12-79.  SLUSA generally precludes state law securities class actions when there is a misrepresentation or omission “in connection with the purchase or sale … Continue Reading

Four Words the Fair Credit Reporting Act Has Class Action Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Repeating: “Show Me The Money!”

Nathan A. SchachtBy Nathan A. Schacht on Posted in Class Action Trends
Editors’ Note:  This post is being jointly published on Baker’s Employment Class Action Blog. Over the past few years, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the federal law mandating, among other things, procedures and reporting requirements employers must follow when conducting background checks through a third party vendor, has become a hot-button employment issue, and … Continue Reading

Eighth Circuit: FLSA Does Not Preclude Enforcement of Class Action Waiver

By Jeanine Conley on Posted in Arbitration, Class Action Trends
In a significant victory for employers, the Eighth Circuit, in Owen v. Bristol Care Inc., No. 12-1719, overturned a Missouri district court ruling that class action waivers were unenforceable in FLSA cases.  In September 2011, Sharon Owen brought an action on behalf of herself and other current and former employees similarly situated, against her employer, … Continue Reading

California District Court Awaits Class Certification Motion in Wal-Mart

Casie CollignonBy Casie Collignon on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Commonality, Rule 23 Requirements, Rule 23(b)(2) Class Actions
On December 10, 2012, the California District Court denied Wal-Mart’s motion for an interlocutory appeal in a putative class action filed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision not permitting certification of a nationwide class.  Dukes v. Wal-Mart, No. C01-02252 CRB, slip op. (N.D. Cal. Dec. 10, 2012).  In September, the district court had … Continue Reading
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