Co-authored by: C. Zachary Rosenberg The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts telephone solicitations and limits the use of automatic dialing systems, prerecorded voice messages, SMS text messages, and faxes. TCPA plaintiffs typically claim that they received unwanted calls, texts or faxes in furtherance of telemarketing campaigns, and that their damages include the loss of ink … Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: This post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. Lawyers representing a purported class of customers who accused retailer OfficeMax North America Inc. (OfficeMax) of illegally recording their zip codes tried again this week to gain court approval of a settlement deal agreed to with OfficeMax. Dardarian v. OfficeMax Inc., case number … Continue Reading
Relying heavily on the Supreme Court’s recent Clapper decision, a federal court dismissed a class action lawsuit arising out of a “skimming” data breach against Barnes & Noble (BN). In re Barnes & Noble Pin Pad Litigation, Case # 12-cv-8617 (N.D.Ill. Sept. 3, 2013) The plaintiffs filed suit against BN following its disclosure that “skimmers” potentially stole … Continue Reading
A Georgia federal district court ruled on August 7th that a bank was not entitled to insurance coverage for class action claims based on its allegedly excessive overdraft fees. Fidelity Bank v. Chartis Specialty Insurance Company, 1:12-CV-4259-RWS (US Dist. Ct. ND Ga, August 7, 2013). Customers filed a class action lawsuit against Fidelity Bank, claiming … Continue Reading
On July 18, 2013, a Pennsylvania appellate court held that class action defendant Cigna Corporation (Cigna) was not entitled to insurance coverage for any part of a settlement it paid to plaintiffs because Cigna did not allocate the settlement between covered and excluded claims. Executive Risk Indemnity Inc. v. Cigna Corp., case no. 1117 EDA … Continue Reading
On July 10, 2013, the Eastern District of Missouri Federal District Court refused to allow a class action plaintiff to directly access the defendant’s insurance coverage for plaintiff’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claims while the TCPA class action lawsuit remained pending. Evanston Insurance Company v. Harris Medical Associates, LLC, and St. Louis Heart Center, … Continue Reading
An Illinois federal district court recently remanded an insurance coverage case to state court, ruling that there was no jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) for the simple reason that the plaintiff did not purport to represent a class. Addison Automatics Inc. v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Co., Case No. 1:13-cv-01922 (June 25, 2013). … Continue Reading
This is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. As reported here in April, an Illinois federal district court certified a privacy class that could number tens of millions of plaintiffs in the case of Harris v. comScore. The plaintiffs claimed that comScore, an online data research company, violated the Stored Communications Act, … Continue Reading
This post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. The Illinois Supreme Court held on May 23, 2013, that claims based on alleged violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Action (TCPA) are covered under traditional general liability policies. Standard Mut. Ins. Co. v. Lay, 2013 IL 114617 (Ill. 2013). In so ruling, the Court … Continue Reading
When the judge deciding a motion for class certification begins his Opinion by describing the proposed class as a “Frankenstein monster,” you don’t need to be very prescient to predict the outcome of the motion. In The Football Association Premier League Limited v. YouTube, Inc., Judge Louis Stanton refused to certify a class of plaintiffs pursuing … Continue Reading
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
Editor’s Note: This is a cross-blog post with BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. For the latest news and updates regarding privacy and data protection, visit www.DataPrivacyMonitor.com. Sighs of relief by class actions defendants following the denial of class certification in Hannaford may give way to renewed uncertainty now that a massive class, estimated by the plaintiffs’ lawyer to be more than … Continue Reading
