Removal under the “mass action” provision of the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) is appropriate when 100 or more plaintiffs take the affirmative step of proposing to try their claims jointly and the claims involve common issues of law or fact. The Ninth Circuit recently examined whether plaintiffs’ request for a bellwether trial in eight separate cases involving the same allegedly defective medical devices amounted to a proposal to have claims tried jointly thereby ... Keep Reading »
Archives for April 2017
2017 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey Highlights
Carlton Fields recently released its sixth annual Class Action Survey, which is based on detailed interviews with general counsel and senior legal officers at 373 companies operating in more than 25 industries. Those individuals shared their thoughts and best practices on class action exposure and management. Highlights from this year’s survey include data on the types of class actions companies faced in 2016 and the likely next wave of class action. Class-Actions By ... Keep Reading »
Class Representatives Do Not Hold Veto Power Over Class Settlement
In In re FedEx Ground Package Sys., Inc. Employment Practices Litig., No. 3:05-CV-595 RLM, 2017 WL 632119 (N.D. Ind. Feb. 14, 2017), only one of a total of seven class representatives signed off on accepting a proposed class settlement with the defendant, FedEx. Further, the class representative who assented to the proposed class settlement later withdrew his signature once he realized that the other six representatives objected to the proposed settlement. In ... Keep Reading »
Pay Attention: A Class Certification Decision You Might Want To Remember
On March 16, 2017, the Southern District of California certified a class action against the manufacturer of gingko biloba and Costco Wholesale Corporation, the seller. Plaintiff alleged, on behalf of a putative class of California purchasers of TruNature Gingko, that the product does not provide any mental clarity, memory, or mental alertness benefits. Plaintiff’s claims were brought under California's unfair competition law and California's Consumer Legal Remedies ... Keep Reading »
Nigerian Natural Gas Drilling Rig Explosion Class Action Blown Away
The Northern District of California recently denied a motion for class certification in a case against Chevron Corporation connected to a 2012 explosion at a Nigerian natural gas drilling rig and the environmental impacts of that explosion. The case had an extensive procedural history which saw numerous amended complaints, a series of revisions revising the putative class down from over 65,000 Nigerians to a fraction of that number, and multiple extensions of discovery ... Keep Reading »
Eleventh Circuit Finds Dual Citizenship Defeats CAFA Diversity
The Eleventh Circuit recently denied a petition to appeal an order remanding a putative class action to state court, finding the defendant corporations’ dual citizenship defeated minimal diversity under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in Georgia state court against two insurance companies, alleging a variety of state law claims and limiting the class to include only Georgia citizens. The defendant companies removed under CAFA. Both were ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court to Resolve Whether Failure to Disclose Under Item 303 of SEC Regulation S-K Gives Rise to Securities Fraud Claims
On March 27, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case of Leidos Inc., f/k/a SAIC Inc. v. Indiana Public Retirement System, a securities fraud class action. The case will resolve a circuit split over whether a failure to disclose under Item 303 of SEC Regulation S-K can give rise to a claim under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. Investor plaintiffs brought a putative class action against Science Applications International ... Keep Reading »
Class Notice Online Works Just Fine
In a case involving alleged violations of ERISA and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, the District Court of the Western District of Kentucky certified a class of Anthem Health Plan insureds who were denied coverage or reimbursement for Applied Behavior Analysis, a particular treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders. The court then ordered plaintiff to submit a proposed draft notice to be sent to class members. The parties agreed (for the most part) on the ... Keep Reading »