Archives: Consumer Class Action

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Ninth Circuit Vacates Final Approval of National Settlement Class Action Certification

By Melonia A. Bennett on Posted in Consumer Class Action
Last month, the Ninth Circuit vacated the certification of a nationwide class for settlement in the In re Hyundai & Kia Fuel Economy Litigation, No. 15-56014, 881 F.3d 679 (9th Cir. Jan. 23, 2018). The Ninth Circuit concluded that the district court abused its discretion because it failed to “conduct a rigorous analysis to determine … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Requires Actual Economic Injury for Price Comparison Class Actions

Photo of Jacqueline MatthewsBy Jacqueline Matthews on Posted in Advertising Class Action, Consumer Class Action
Earlier this week, the Sixth Circuit flatly rejected a bid by a consumer to recover damages allegedly caused by Wish.com’s advertised price comparisons (opinion available here). The online marketplace uses struck-through manufacturers’ suggested retail prices next to products’ purchase prices, which plaintiff Gerboc alleged are misleading and caused him injury when he purchased a pair … Continue Reading

Eighth Circuit Provides Important Guidance in Class Settlement Approvals

Photo of Mark JohnsonBy Mark Johnson on Posted in Consumer Class Action
The Eight Circuit provided some useful guidance for district courts and practitioners in obtaining and reviewing final approval of class settlements in its July 5, 2017, decision in Keil v. Lopez. In that case, the court affirmed approval of a consumer class action settlement by Blue Buffalo Co. Ltd. involving ingredients of pet food. Here … Continue Reading

‘Excessive’ Shipping Fees May Be Next Target of Consumer Class Actions

Photo of Jacqueline MatthewsPhoto of Rand L. McClellanBy Jacqueline Matthews and Rand L. McClellan on Posted in Consumer Class Action
Retailers offering online, telephone or catalog purchases may want to review the shipping fees charged to their customers in the wake of several class actions recently filed in California. Multiple retailers have been hit with consumer class actions challenging their shipping fees as exceeding the actual shipping costs incurred by retailers in fulfilling customer orders. … Continue Reading

Price Comparison Class Actions Against Retailers Heat up in New York

Photo of Jacqueline MatthewsBy Jacqueline Matthews on Posted in Class Action Trends, Consumer Class Action
The common retail practice of comparing an item’s current price with a higher “original,” “regular,” or “MSRP” price has recently come under increasing fire from consumers, who say the higher comparison price is often fictitious and misleads shoppers into believing they are getting a better bargain than they really are. Over the past two and … Continue Reading

Breaking Down the Target Payment Card Breach Settlement – It’s Not as Groundbreaking as You’ve Been Led to Believe

Photo of Paul KarlsgodtBy Paul Karlsgodt on Posted in Consumer Class Action, Data Breach
Editor’s Note: The following blog post was originally published by ClassActionBlawg.com. It is republished with permission. HarrisMartin’s Data Breach Litigation Conference: The Coming of Age is scheduled for next Wednesday, March 25, 2015, at the Westin San Diego.  I’ll be speaking on a panel titled Creative Approaches to Settling Data Breach Cases with Ben Barnow of Barnow and Associates, … Continue Reading

Unprofessional Marketing: Illinois Appellate Court Denies Professional Liability Coverage for TCPA Violation

By C. Zachary Rosenberg on Posted in Consumer Class Action, Insurance, TCPA
On November 26, 2014, an Illinois appellate court held that a professional liability insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured for a class action brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because the insured’s robocalls did not constitute conduct of the insured’s business “in rendering services for others,” as required by … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Affirms Certification and Summary Judgment for TCPA Class, Despite State Law Class Action Prohibition

By Judy Selby on Posted in Class Actions Privacy, Class Certification, Consumer Class Action, State Class Action Law, TCPA
On July 9, 2014, the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that a consumer TCPA class action could proceed against Lake City Industrial Products, rejecting Lake City’s argument that Michigan law prohibited TCPA class actions.  American Copper & Brass, Inc. v. Lake City Industrial Products, Inc., Case No. 13-2605, (6th Cir. 2014).  In addition, … Continue Reading

Genzyme First Circuit Decision

By David M. McMillan on Posted in Class Action Trends, Consumer Class Action, Securities
First Circuit Sides with Pharmaceutical Manufacturer in Dismissing Shareholder Class Action In a huge victory for Massachusetts-based biologics manufacturer Genzyme Corporation, the First Circuit Court of Appeals on June 5, 2014 affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of a multi-million dollar shareholder class action stemming from allegedly misleading statements regarding the approval prospects for one of … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Says Cellphone Calls Do Not Have To Be Confidential To Violate the California Invasion of Privacy Act

By Matthew C. Baisley on Posted in Class Actions Privacy, Consumer Class Action
The Ninth Circuit recently issued a divided and unpublished opinion in Young v. Hilton Worldwide Inc. et al, which plaintiffs may attempt to use in class action lawsuits against call centers for violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”).  We previously reported that in Faulkner v. ADT Security Services Inc., the Ninth Circuit … Continue Reading

No Need To Try the Individual Claim After Class Cert Denial – Ninth Circuit Asserts Jurisdiction over Voluntary Stipulated Dismissal and Upholds Denial of Class Certification

Photo of Casie CollignonBy Casie Collignon and Aaron Thompson on Posted in Class Certification, Consumer Class Action, Predominance, Rule 23 Requirements
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the United States District Court for the Central District of California’s denial of class certification of a Plaintiff’s California consumer law claims based primarily based on the predominance of individualized issues. Case No. 11-55592 (9th Cir. Feb. 3, 2014). Notably, the Ninth Circuit also determined that it had jurisdiction to … Continue Reading

New Class Action Accuses UPS of Overcharging for Shipping Insurance

Photo of Darren CrookBy Darren Crook on Posted in Consumer Class Action
A new consumer class action has been filed against shipping giant UPS, alleging that the company overcharges its customers for “declared value coverage” (i.e., shipping insurance) on the packages it delivers.  The case was filed on December 27, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The complaint alleges that UPS offers declared value … Continue Reading

Loreto v. The Procter & Gamble Company: Southern District of Ohio Grants Motion to Strike Class Allegations in Consumer False Advertising Case

By Nicole Skolout on Posted in Advertising Class Action, Class Certification, Consumer Class Action, Rule 23 Requirements
In a significant decision, the Southern District of Ohio granted, in full, the defendant’s motion to strike class allegations in a consumer false advertising class action before any significant discovery had taken place or the plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification.  Loreto v. The Procter & Gamble Company, No. 1:09-cv-815, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue Reading

Australian Thalidomide class action settled

Photo of Darren CrookPhoto of Patrick T. LewisBy Darren Crook and Patrick T. Lewis on Posted in Consumer Class Action, Settlements
More than 50 years after the morning sickness drug Thalidomide was first released to the market, the drug’s British distributor announced on Monday, December 2nd that it has agreed to settle an Australian class action in the Victorian Supreme Court over birth defects linked to the drug.  The legal team representing the class claimed that Australia … Continue Reading

Judge Slashes Attorneys’ Fees and Incentive Awards in Defective Laptop Class Action

By Stephanie Osterman on Posted in Consumer Class Action, Settlements
In a consumer class action settlement involving allegedly sluggish Acer notebook computers, a Northern California federal judge sua sponte slashed the attorneys’ fees award sought by plaintiffs’ lawyers from the requested $2,542,246 to $943,217.  Wolph v. Acer Am. Corp., Case No. 3:09-cv-0-1314-JSW (N.D. Cal. Oct. 21, 2013). The named plaintiffs accused Acer of selling notebook … Continue Reading

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

Photo of Julian PerlmanBy Julian Perlman on 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

Photo of Julian PerlmanBy Julian Perlman on 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

Will Moldy Washing Machines Save the Consumer Class Action from Extinction?

Photo of Paul KarlsgodtBy Paul Karlsgodt on Posted in Consumer Class Action
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on ClassActionBlawg.com and is reprinted with permission. One of the key questions in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend is the extent to which damages must be susceptible to classwide calculation in order to justify class certification.  In particular, the question is … Continue Reading
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