On May 13, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the remand of a wage and hour class action lawsuit filed in California state court based on the home state exception to the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). In its opinion affirming the remand, the Ninth Circuit explored both parts of the home state exception. Defendant West Marine removed the lawsuit to federal court under CAFA. There was no dispute that West Marine’s CAFA removal satisfied the statutory ... Keep Reading »
Archives for May 2020
COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Class Actions
Over the last month, there have been numerous lawsuits across the country by policyholders seeking insurance coverage for losses they claim are resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last two weeks, the new trend has been to file these claims as class actions. Several of the nation’s top plaintiff-side class action law firms have filed class action lawsuits seeking coverage for nationwide classes of policyholders. These cases have been filed all over the country ... Keep Reading »
More Alike Than Different: Sixth Circuit Instructs MDL Court to Find Efficiencies Within Federal Rules Governing Individual Cases
Judges presiding over multidistrict litigations, known as MDLs, must walk a tightrope between individual and collective needs. As the Sixth Circuit reminded us in a recent decision, In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, this can be an especially challenging balancing act for a district judge. On the one hand, MDL courts operate within the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, designed largely to adjudicate individual cases. On the other hand, an MDL exists so that ... Keep Reading »
The Litigation Curve Does Not Flatten: COVID-19 Class Action Filings Approach 300
As we first reported in early April, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a class action feeding frenzy among the plaintiffs’ class action bar. COVID-19 class action case filings have risen to more than 280 as of May 4, 2020. As the litigation trend comes into focus, three industries have emerged as the largest targets: insurers of businesses suffering losses due to shutdowns and curtailments; colleges and universities whose students are demanding refunds of tuition and ... Keep Reading »
Class Actions Against Colleges and Universities Demanding Reimbursement of Tuition and Fees: What Schools Need to Know to Be Prepared and Are Independent Schools Next?
In recent weeks, at least 42 putative class action lawsuits have been filed against colleges and universities across the country related to campus shutdowns and the move to online education necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. More lawsuits are being filed on a weekly basis. This litigation is a concerning development for higher education already struggling to respond to the pandemic. These lawsuits should also concern independent schools because they too provide ... Keep Reading »