Archives: Commonality

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

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

A Big Week for the Securities Bar: Amgen and Gabelli

Co-authored by: Marc D. Powers, Mark A. Kornfeld, and Jessie M Gabriel Editor’s Note: This Executive Alert was published by members of BakerHostetler’s Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Team and BakerHostetler’s Class Action Team. The Supreme Court last week issued two opinions of major importance to the securities bar. In Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Further Defines Requirements of Commonality Under Dukes; Distinguishes Seventh Circuit Case Relaxing Those Requirements

Co-author: Elizabeth Braverman In a recent case, Miller v. Countrywide Bank (In re Countrywide Financial Corp. Mortgage Lending Practices Litigation), — F.3d —, No. 12-5250, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 924 (6th Cir. Jan. 15, 2013), the Sixth Circuit provided more guidance on the requirements of commonality where plaintiffs allege discrimination resulted from a companywide delegation of … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Rejects Class Trial By [Un]Representative Sample

In Espenscheid v. DirectSat USA, LLC, Case No. 12-1943 (7th Cir. Feb. 4, 2013), in a combined collective/class action asserting claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law, three satellite installation technicians sought to represent 2,341 technicians on claims their employer’s “piece-rate” pay structure violated federal and state wage laws by failing to … Continue Reading

Dukes Dooms Domino’s Delivery Drivers’ Class Action

Co-author: Scott J. Bent The Eighth Circuit recently reaffirmed one of the central holdings of Dukes v. Wal-Mart—commonality is no longer a “rubber stamp.”  In Luiken v. Domino’s Pizza, a Domino’s delivery driver sought to represent a class of about 1,600 fellow drivers in an action against the pizza giant for wrongfully withholding tips.  No. … Continue Reading

Class Certification Denied In Recent Consumer Products False Advertising Cases

In a number of recent district court decisions from across the country, courts have denied requests to certify nationwide or statewide classes in cases involving consumer products.  These decisions could prove helpful in opposing class certification in other false advertising cases.  Significantly, the courts in both Chow and In re Celexa & Lexapro read exposure/causation … Continue Reading

California District Court Awaits Class Certification Motion in Wal-Mart

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

Overtime Pay Class Certified Despite Individualized Issues

Editors’ Note:  This blog post is a dual submission to Baker’s Class Action Lawsuit Defense and Employment Class Action blogs. In Cuevas v. Citizens Financial Group Inc., Case No. 10-cv-5582 (E.D.N.Y. May 2, 2012), the plaintiff brought an action on behalf of all Assistant Bank Managers (“ABMs”) who had worked at one of the 230 Citizens … Continue Reading
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