Tag Archives: wal-mart

No Supreme Court Review of Moldy Washer Cases

Photo of Paul KarlsgodtBy Paul Karlsgodt on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Issue Certification
Earlier today, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in two highly anticipated appeals of decisions by the Sixth and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals to grant class certification over breach of warranty claims involving allegedly defective washing machines.  The denial of cert in Butler v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., Nos. 11-8029, 12-8030 (7th Cir., Aug. 22, … 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

Basic Is Anything But: Courts Continue to Wrangle with the Fraud-on-the-Market Presumption

Photo of Jessie M. GabrielBy Jessie M. Gabriel on Posted in Class Action Trends, Predominance, Rule 23 Requirements, Securities
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

Common and Predominating Damages: Comcast Opinion Extends Wal-Mart v. Dukes’ Standards for Class Certification but Leaves the Question of Daubert for Another Day

Photo of Casie CollignonBy Casie Collignon on Posted in Antitrust, Class Certification, Expert Testimony, Predominance, Rule 23 Requirements
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

Comcast v. Behrend: Supreme Court Tightens Certification Requirements, But Leaves Standard For Expert Evidence Uncertain

Photo of Patrick T. LewisBy Patrick T. Lewis on Posted in Antitrust, Class Certification, Predominance, Rule 23 Requirements
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

UniTek Argues $3.8M FLSA Award Cannot Stand in Light of Seventh Circuit Decertification Decision

By Jeanine Conley on Posted in Class Certification
In a recent motion filed in Monroe v. FTS USA, LLC, No. 2:08-cv-02100 (D.E. 441-1), defendants Unitek USA, LLC and its subsidiary, FTS USA, LLC, (collectively “UniTek”) asserted that a $3.8 million judgment awarded to a class of cable technicians should be tossed in light of the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Espenscheid, v. DirectSat USA, … Continue Reading

A Big Week for the Securities Bar: Amgen and Gabelli

By Deborah Renner on 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

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

Photo of Rodger EckelberryBy Rodger Eckelberry on Posted in Class Certification, Commonality, Issue Certification, Rule 23 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

Dukes Dooms Domino’s Delivery Drivers’ Class Action

Photo of Rodger EckelberryBy Rodger Eckelberry on Posted in Class Certification, Commonality, Rule 23 Requirements
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

California District Court Awaits Class Certification Motion in Wal-Mart

Photo of Casie CollignonBy Casie Collignon on 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

Supreme Court Denies Cert on Preclusion Issue Post Decertification in Florida Tobacco Case…And Once Again, Decertification Proves to Be a Hollow Victory

Photo of Casie CollignonBy Casie Collignon on Posted in Class Certification
Last week, on November 26, 2012, the United States Supreme Court denied cert in one of the thousands of individual cases pending in the aftermath of Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., 945 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 2006), where the State of Florida took on the tobacco industry.  In R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Clay, Case … Continue Reading

Amgen Argument Points Up Split in Supreme Court on Class Certification Versus Merits Issues

By Deborah Renner on Posted in Class Action Trends, Securities
On November 5, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Amgen, Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, No. 1085, a securities class action, that concerned the ongoing question of what evidence is required at the class certification stage of a case as opposed to the merits phase of a case.  (See our blog … Continue Reading

Can Subsequent Wal-Mart Class Actions Survive? Texas Federal Court Says “No”

By Jeanine Conley on Posted in Class Action Tolling, Class Action Trends
On October 28, 2011, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011) denying class certification to plaintiffs seeking to represent a group of over 1.5 million women in a gender discrimination action against Wal-Mart, Stephanie Odle and six other named plaintiffs filed another action … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Declines to Take on the Issue of Issue Certification

Photo of Paul KarlsgodtBy Paul Karlsgodt on Posted in Issue Certification
A definitive ruling on whether courts may certify class actions to decide discrete issues, as opposed to cases or claims, will have to wait.  Last Monday, the United States Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari to review the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 672 F.3d 482 … Continue Reading

Wal-Mart Sex Discrimination Plaintiffs Get a Second Bite at a Smaller Apple

Photo of Casie CollignonBy Casie Collignon on Posted in Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Class Definition, Equitable Relief, Rule 23 Requirements, Rule 23(b)(2) Class Actions
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), that five named plaintiffs alleging nationwide sex discrimination class action claims did not satisfy Rule 23(a)’s commonality requirement and could not bring class claims for monetary relief under Rule 23(b)(2). In October of last year, the plaintiffs filed a … Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Consider Rights of Absent Class Members in CAFA Case

By Deborah Renner on Posted in Class Action Fairness Act, Class Action Trends
On August 31st, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari review of a case involving the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”).  In The Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles, No. 11-1450, plaintiff’s counsel tried to avoid the federal jurisdiction mandated by CAFA by stipulating that the damages sought by the putative class would be … Continue Reading

Second Circuit: Notice Required When Damages Not “Incidental” in a Rule 23(b)(2) Class

Photo of Rand L. McClellanBy Rand L. McClellan on Posted in Rule 23(b)(2) Class Actions, Settlements
Editors’ Note:  This article originally appeared as a “Client Alert” from Baker’s Class Action Defense team. Pointing out pitfalls in structuring enforceable class settlements, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently found that an absent class member’s claims were not barred by a prior settlement in a Rule 23(b)(2) class where monetary relief was not … Continue Reading

Overtime Pay Class Certified Despite Individualized Issues

By Jeanine Conley on Posted in Class Certification, Commonality, Predominance, Rule 23 Requirements
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

Interview With Professor Mary Kay Kane

By Deborah Renner on Posted in Class Action Trends
Co-authored by: Matt Moody Editor’s note: This post is the first in a series of posts from the Class Action Lawsuit Defense Blog’s interview with Mary Kay Kane, former Dean and Chancellor and current Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law. Professor Kane is the author of the … Continue Reading

Trial By Formula, Statistical Sampling, and the Right to Due Process

Photo of Paul KarlsgodtBy Paul Karlsgodt on Posted in Class Certification, Expert Testimony
A common temptation in class action litigation is to fashion procedures based on “rough justice” to avoid overburdening the courts or attempting to redress alleged mass harm.  Over the past decade, as storage and computing power have increased exponentially, it has become increasingly tempting to use statistical sampling as a proxy for the actual adjudication of … Continue Reading

Individual Causation Issues and Lack of Uniformity in Sales Practices Mean No Certification in Consumer Fraud Class Action

Photo of Darren CrookBy Darren Crook on Posted in Class Certification, Consumer Fraud, RICO
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently refused to certify a proposed class in a dispute against an insurance company selling annuities to seniors because individualized inquiries into the company’s sales presentations precluded satisfaction of the predominance criterion required for certification.  In Rowe et al. v. Bankers Life and Casualty … Continue Reading

ERISA Class Actions Still Being Certified Post-Dukes

By Paul Enockson on Posted in Class Certification, ERISA
Editor’s Note: This Entry is a Joint Submission to the Baker Hostetler Class Action Lawsuit Defense and Employment Class Action Blogs.  Be sure to check the employment team’s blog at www.employmentclassactionreport.com for more great content relating to the defense of employment-related class actions. ERISA class certification motions routinely cite cases for the proposition that ERISA cases are the paradigmatic example of … Continue Reading

In Contrast to Wal-Mart, Seventh Circuit Allows Issue Certification

By Deborah Renner on Posted in Class Certification, Issue Certification
The Seventh Circuit’s decision in McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch, No. 11-3639 (7th Cir. Feb. 24, 2012), exemplifies how courts are dealing with the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), at least in Title VII class certification settings.  In Wal-Mart, the Court denied certification of a purported … Continue Reading
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