Tag Archives: california

The Demand Curve Problem for UCL Class Actions

By Brian Troyer on June 1, 2022 Posted in Class Action Trends

A recent opinion from a California federal court, Mier v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. et al., No. 8:20-cv-01979-DOC-ADS, slip op. (C.D. Cal. May 9, 2022), touches on an aspect of econometric modeling that class action defense counsel should understand, particularly in consumer fraud cases under California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and similar laws with restitution as … Continue Reading

“Yes, I Agree”: With a Click, Uber Drivers Can Waive Right To Bring Class Action Suits

By Andrew Serrao on October 31, 2016 Posted in Class Action Trends

Recently, in a major win for employers and companies that transact business on the internet, the Ninth Circuit upheld the use of arbitration class-action waivers in so-called clickwrap agreements. These types of agreements are commonplace—consumers installing software or signing up for a service are presented with a company’s terms and conditions on their screen, and … Continue Reading

California Court Rejects Tuna Settlement Over Scope of Release

By Kristen Hawes on February 25, 2016 Posted in Settlements

In recent years, courts have been more carefully scrutinizing class action settlements. A recent example is Hendricks v. Starkist Co., Case No. 3:13-cv-00729 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 19, 2016), where the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied final approval of a $12 million settlement of a class action filed against StarKist. The lawsuit … Continue Reading

JCPenney Advertising Class Settlement Calls for $50 Million Payment for a California-Only Class

By Rand L. McClellan and Jacqueline Matthews on November 12, 2015 Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification

Retailers have been under siege, particularly in California, by putative class actions involving allegations of “false or misleading” advertising practices. Generally, the crux of the allegations is that retailers are inducing customers to make purchases by overstating or fabricating the amount that a customer will save by purchasing an item. In the past two years, … Continue Reading

Class Certification of California Price Advertisement Case Gives Cause for Concern

By Rodger Eckelberry, Jacqueline Matthews and Rand L. McClellan on June 30, 2015 Posted in Class Certification

Spann v. JCPenney and People of California v. Overstock.com By Rodger L. Eckelberry, Rand L. McClellan, and Jacqueline K. Matthews June 30, 2015 A recent class certification decision in California involving challenges to a retailer’s price comparison advertisements should prompt retailers to carefully evaluate their sale advertising practices. Whether comparing to “regular” or previous prices, or to the sale … Continue Reading

Class Action Disgorgement Case Dismissed Against PG&E as Remedy Sought Would Interfere with Filed Rates

By Casie Collignon and Matthew C. Baisley on October 17, 2014 Posted in Class Action Trends

Companies in regulated markets, such as insurance and energy, are increasing litigating issues surrounding the “filed rate doctrine,” or in other words, whether they can be sued in a class action where the remedy sought necessarily challenges the rates that are required or approved by the relevant regulators. Pacific Gas & Electric is a great … Continue Reading

California Supreme Court Pounds Another Nail into the Coffin of “Trial by Formula” in Class Actions

By Paul Karlsgodt on June 2, 2014 Posted in Class Action Trends, Employment

Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally posted on ClassActionBlawg.com. It is reproduced with permissions. The California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Duran v. U.S. Bank National Association yesterday, addressing the use of statistical sampling as a way of evaluating aggregate liability and damages in a class action. Although Duran is a wage … 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

By Casie Collignon and Aaron Thompson on February 14, 2014 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

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

After Standard Fire Uncertainty Continues About the Legal Certainty Standard for CAFA Removal in California District Courts

By Dustin Dow on June 13, 2013 Posted in Class Action Fairness Act

Of all the recent landscape-shifting opinions the Supreme Court has issued in the class-action arena, perhaps none appear as straightforward as Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles, 133 S.Ct. 1345 (2013). Recall that in Standard Fire the Court laid down an explicit rule that a putative class-action plaintiff’s stipulation to seek damages of less than … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Echoes California and Disavows Data Mining by Zip Code

By Yulia Fradkin on March 19, 2013 Posted in Class Actions Privacy, Class Certification, Consumer Fraud

In a decision last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Court held that zip codes are personally identifiable information, perhaps serving as a harbinger for other state court decisions still to come. This ruling is important for all retailers when considering their privacy practices in conjunction with ever-evolving privacy laws, especially in the class action context. In Tyler … Continue Reading

A Big Week for the Securities Bar: Amgen and Gabelli

By Deborah Renner on March 13, 2013 Posted in Class Certification, Commonality, Injunctions, Practice Pointers, Predominance, Securities

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

Blood Bank Data Breach Class Action Settlement Preliminarily Approved by California District Court Judge

By Tina Amin on February 20, 2013 Posted in Class Certification, Data Breach, Settlements

In Johansson-Dohrmann v. CBR Systems, Inc. et al, No. 3:12-cv-01115 (S.D. Cal., filed May 7, 2012), the latest data privacy class action to reach settlement, Judge Michael M. Anello on February 5, 2013 granted preliminary approval of a proposed class settlement in a federal class action suit brought by a client of a blood bank … Continue Reading

Late Class Settlement Claims – To Accept or Not to Accept?

By Casie Collignon on January 16, 2013 Posted in Class Certification, Practice Pointers, Settlements

Inevitably, there is always at least one late claim form arrival in every class action settlement. This precise issue was highlighted in a recent case in the Northern District of California. In Curtis-Bauer v. Morgan Stanley & Co., No. 3:06-cv-03903, a class action settlement was reached in a racial discrimination case against financial advisors at … Continue Reading

California District Court Awaits Class Certification Motion in Wal-Mart

By Casie Collignon on December 18, 2012 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

Call Centers Increasingly Targeted in Class Action Lawsuits for Statutory Penalties Under Decades-Old California Law

By Paul Karlsgodt on October 23, 2012 Posted in Data Breach

Editor’s Note – This article is a joint submission to the Baker Hostetler Class Action Lawsuit Defense Blog and Data Privacy Monitor. Be sure to check out the Data Privacy Monitor for the latest news, trends, and analysis on data privacy issues. Companies that provide call center services to consumers are increasingly being targeted in class action … Continue Reading

Uncertainty Persists Regarding Insurance Companies’ Exemption from Liability Under California’s Unfair Competition Law

By Tina Amin on March 28, 2012 Posted in Consumer Fraud

The issue of whether insurance companies enjoy any special exemption from California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) liability has been a hotly litigated topic since the California Supreme Court’s 1988 decision in Moradi-Shalal v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Cos. 46 Cal.3d 287 (1988), and has been currently pending before the same court since it accepted review of … Continue Reading