On February 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision affirming summary judgment in favor of the defendant on a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claim in Baird v. Sabre, Inc., ---F.App’x,---, 2016 WL 424778 (9th Cir. Feb. 3, 2016). The short opinion was designated by the panel as unpublished. Nonetheless, because of the relative paucity of published circuit court decisions on highly specific TCPA issues, district courts ... Keep Reading »
Archives for February 2016
2015 Food Industry Decisions With Bite
Food for Thought is a review of significant court decisions affecting the food, beverage, dietary supplements and personal care products industry. Although many cases in this edition focus on cases pertaining to class certification, we have also included other cases relating to summary judgment decisions. Florida District Court Rejects Motion to Strike But Allows Pre-Certification Standing Challenge in Snack Food Labeling Case Bohlke v. Shearer’s Foods, LLC, No. ... Keep Reading »
Seventh Circuit Weighs In On One-Way Intervention
Does plaintiff’s contemporaneous filing of a motion for summary judgment and a motion for class certification violate the rule against one-way intervention? In Costello, plaintiff filed his motions for summary judgment and class certification contemporaneously. The lower court first denied class certification and then granted the motion for summary judgment. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit found that the rule against one-way intervention was not violated. The court, ... Keep Reading »
Limits of Ascertainability Reached in Class Allegations Against Equifax
Plaintiff, hoping to recover from Equifax for issuing a credit report with "incorrect and damaging information," sought to represent a class of "all persons who disputed an Equifax credit report and where Equifax failed to apply the proper and appropriate [Fair Credit Reporting Act, (“FCRA”)] procedures." On defendant's motion to strike these class allegations, the federal district court in New Jersey said, "this Court would never grant a motion for class certification ... Keep Reading »
No Party for IRS: Court Certifies Class of Conservative Nonprofits
If you thought that the political controversy over alleged IRS targeting of Tea Party organizations was confined to the media, think again – the issue has reached the courts. The Southern District of Ohio recently granted class certification in a lawsuit brought by organizations alleging they were targeted by the IRS. Plaintiff groups, which applied for exemption from federal taxes under 26 U.S.C. §§ 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4), claim that the IRS improperly flagged their ... Keep Reading »