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
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
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
Co-authored by: John B. Lewis, Dustin M. Dow, Patrick T. Lewis, Danyll W. Foix, and Rodger L. Eckelberry Editor’s Note: This Executive Alert was published by members of BakerHostetler’s Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Team, Employment Team, and BakerHostetler’s Class Action Team. On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case … Continue Reading
On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case No. 11-864, which tightened class certification requirements in two respects. First, Behrend requires plaintiffs to show a method by which class-wide damages can be commonly calculated in Rule 23(b)(3) antitrust class actions. Second, the decision confirmed that the Court’s “rigorous analysis” … Continue Reading
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
Class action defense practitioners routinely face uphill battles on the issue of individualized defenses for class members. However, these arguments should not be overlooked as tools to defeat class certification. Lipton v. Chattem, Inc., No. 11 C 2952, 2013 WL 489147 (N.D. Il. Feb. 8, 2013), a recent case out of the Northern District of … Continue Reading
In a case that illustrates the growing trend in class certification law to rigorously evaluate a plaintiff’s contentions that he or she meets the Rule 23 class certification criteria, the Third Circuit vacated the New Jersey District Court’s certification of a class involving run-flat tires (“RFTs”). In Marcus v. BMW, Nos. 11-1192, 11-1193, slip op. (3d … Continue Reading
Contributing Author: Amanda Karp The Supreme Court of Louisiana recently struck down the trial and appellate courts’ class certification in Alexander v. Norfolk Southern Corp., 82 So.3d 1234 (La. 2012) for a lack of predominance of common issues. The case highlights the critical importance of procuring expert testimony on predominance issues at the class certification … Continue Reading
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
Fraud class actions have become increasingly difficult to certify over the years as courts routinely have held that individualized issues of reliance swamp any common issues. Plaintiffs’ attorneys thus have been keen to attempt to transform fraud claims into breach of contract claims and claims under consumer protection statutes. That approach failed miserably for plaintiffs in In re Facebook, Inc. PPC Advertising … Continue Reading
Continuing the trend in the Second Circuit since the IPO decision for courts to “rigorously” determine whether class certification is appropriate, on March 27, 2012, Judge Miriam Cederbaum of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied plaintiff’s motion for class certification in the putative class action brought against Freddie … Continue Reading
