Seventy-eight of the over 4,000 Michigan childcare providers who received state subsidies for offering services to low-income families voted to oppose having their union dues deducted from their subsidy payments. Six of the dissenting providers then filed a putative class action seeking equitable relief and monetary damages alleging that the dues deduction requirement in their collective bargaining agreement violated their First Amendment rights. The proposed class ... Keep Reading »
Middle District of Florida Remands Insurance Coverage Class Action, Reasoning Amount In Controversy Is Determined From Value Of Claim, Not Policy
The value of the claim at issue, not the value of the policy limit, is considered for purposes of determining the amount in controversy in an insurance coverage class action. That, the Middle District of Florida found, is the law in the Eleventh Circuit. The plaintiff in Faust v. Maxum Casualty Insurance Company filed in state court a class action against his insurer on behalf of persons covered for Medical Payments coverage under a Florida property, casualty, surety, ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Reverses Order Striking Class Allegations in Microsoft Xbox Case
The Ninth Circuit reversed an order striking class allegations against Microsoft reasoning that the Washington district court misapplied its precedent and thereby abused its discretion. Plaintiffs alleged that a design defect in Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game console made it unable to withstand vibrations during normal game playing conditions and caused game discs to become scratched and unplayable. Microsoft countered that the majority of Xbox units do not manifest the ... Keep Reading »
District Court for the District of Columbia Finds CAFA Jurisdiction Exists; Denies Remand For Lack of Local Controversy
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a motion to remand an action removed pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), where the plaintiff failed to show CAFA’s local controversy exception applied. Plaintiff sued a Washington, D.C. health club and several others for allegedly fraudulently taking out lines of credit against customers and billing against them without the customers’ knowledge or consent. The Plaintiff conceded minimal ... Keep Reading »
Florida District Court Rejects Motion To Strike But Allows Pre-Certification Standing Challenge In Snack Food Labeling Case
Before class certification hearings occur in the Southern District of Florida, defendants may not challenge plaintiff's class allegations via Rule 12(f) motions to strike but may challenge plaintiff's standing via motions to dismiss. In Bohlke v. Shearer's Foods, LLC, plaintiff sought to represent a Florida class and alternative nationwide class of purchasers of five flavors of defendant's rice chips. Plaintiff alleged that defendant's "all natural" labels were false ... Keep Reading »
Ohio District Court Limits American Pipe Tolling Doctrine
The District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently limited the American Pipe tolling doctrine in a fraud suit arising out of the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”). Plaintiffs’ 2011 Ohio complaint alleged that defendants’ offering materials upon which they relied more than three years earlier violated the Federal Securities Act. Defendants moved to dismiss based on the three year statute of repose contained in 15 U.S.C. §77m. Plaintiffs ... Keep Reading »
Third Circuit Denies Employees’ Petition For Rehearing In Class Arbitration Case
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals this week denied a petition for rehearing by the panel and the Court en banc in the Opalinski v Robert Half International, Inc. matter, where last month it held that the availability of class arbitration is a substantive question of arbitrability for the court (not the arbitrator) to decide, absent clear agreement otherwise. See our prior post about that opinion here. Opalinski v. Robert Half International, Inc., No. 12-4444 (3d ... Keep Reading »
The Third Circuit Joins The Sixth And Holds That The Availability Of Class Arbitration Is A Substantive Question Of Arbitrability For Courts To Decide, Absent Clear Agreement Otherwise
“Because of the fundamental differences between classwide and individual arbitration, and the consequences of proceeding with one rather than the other, … the availability of classwide arbitration is a substantive ‘question of arbitrability’ to be decided by a court absent clear agreement otherwise,” the Third Circuit held. Two former Robert Half International, Inc. (“RHI”) employees brought an action, on behalf of themselves and others, alleging that RHI failed to ... Keep Reading »
7th Circuit Vacates Decision Declining To Certify Consumer Class Against Roofing Shingle Manufacturer Based On Incorrect Reading Of Comcast And Dukes
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a decision declining to certify a consumer class against IKO Manufacturing, in which the district court wrote that “commonality of damages” is essential, reasoning that the district court had incorrectly read Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 133 S. Ct. 1426 (2013), and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), to require proof “that the plaintiffs will experience common damage and that their claimed damages are not ... Keep Reading »
Preemptive Strike Terminates Nationwide Product Defect Class In Louisiana
A Louisiana District Court struck plaintiff’s class allegations in a putative nationwide class of Mercedes vehicle owners finding plaintiff failed to meet his burden of proving predominance, superiority and manageability. Plaintiff alleged that that Mercedes concealed defects in the GL model suspension system that caused the vehicles to lean and be undriveable. Plaintiff’s complaint asserted various common law product liability, warranty and fraud theories as well as ... Keep Reading »