In today’s world, as technology costs decrease and personal information becomes more valuable on the black market, data breaches have seemingly joined the ranks of death and taxes as certainties. Add to that litigation: companies suffering data breaches face exposure to lawsuits by consumers, employees, and even financial institutions. One particular concern for companies is the possibility of costly consumer class actions. Though such lawsuits still account for fewer ... Keep Reading »
Archives for December 2016
California Court Rejects Attempt to Overturn Judgment Based on Spokeo
A defendant who lost a bench trial in a certified class case alleging that it violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act by forcing the plaintiff and class to use electronic funds transfer services to obtain loans sought to upend the verdict by arguing that the Supreme Court’s recent Spokeo decision made clear the plaintiff lacked Article III standing to sue. The court rejected that argument. In Spokeo, the Supreme Court ruled that for Article III standing to exist, a ... Keep Reading »
Divergent Views on Class Discovery
In two recent cases, California and Florida district courts reached divergent views on whether to permit wide-ranging class discovery prior to a certification decision. Interestingly, both decisions involved Ocwen companies. In Weiner, a RICO class action, the class plaintiffs sought discovery of defendants’ “internal communications relating to their decision to spin-off” a subsidiary because those communications ostensibly bore on “classwide intent to fraudulently ... Keep Reading »
Eleventh Circuit Clarifies CAFA Jurisdiction Continues After Dismissal of Class Claims
On November 22, the Eleventh Circuit clarified that Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) jurisdiction is not eliminated when the class claims are dismissed before the class is certified. The plaintiff, an Alabama trucking company that had a fuel-discount with Pilot, filed a class action alleging that Pilot systematically shortchanged trucking companies with which it had discount arrangements by failing to give them the agreed-upon benefits. The class claims were ... Keep Reading »