The Eastern District of Missouri certified an unusual class of lawyers and their clients who undertook a collective effort to litigate claims against Bayer related to the purported “contamination” of the U.S. rice supply by Bayer’s genetically modified rice. The defendants are law firms that allegedly benefitted from the work performed by the class in state and federal cases against Bayer. Bayer’s introduction of genetically modified rice into the U.S. domestic rice ... Keep Reading »
Adequacy Class Action Articles
The latest class action developments and trends in adequacy, including news, key cases, and strategies.
A Message From the Eighth Circuit Regarding the TCPA
The purpose of a telephone solicitation, rather than its content, determines whether it is prohibited telemarketing under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq. That is what the Eighth Circuit determined in a case arising from unsolicited telephone calls with prerecorded messages initiated for the purpose of promoting the motion picture, Last Ounce of Courage. The Golan family, who were registered on federal and state "do not call" ... Keep Reading »
No Certification Where Class Representatives Have Conflicting Interests
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 »
Regulatory Settlement Proves Major Obstacle for Certification of Minor Class of Google In-App Purchases
Google sells apps on its Play Store that allow users to make in-app purchases, typically the buying of “currency” for use in app-based games. This putative class action alleged that the games were aimed at minor children and allowed them to make in-app purchases unobstructed for a period of 30 minutes after a password was entered. As a result, minors were able to make one click, large-dollar-amount purchases without parental authorization. Prior to the filing of the ... Keep Reading »
Circuit Courts Address Impact of Arbitration Agreements on Labor Class and Collective Actions
In Conners v. Gusano's Chicago Style Pizzeria, plaintiffs, former employees of defendant, brought a collective action alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Defendant responded by implementing a binding arbitration policy on current employees that specifically prevented current employees from joining plaintiffs in the collective action. The district court enjoined defendant from enforcing the arbitration agreement as to any current employees who chose to ... Keep Reading »
GCs facing more bet-the-company and higher exposure class actions
Across industries, companies spent $2 billion on class action lawsuits in 2014, slightly less than the $2.1 billion they spent in 2013. This year, spending is expected to return to 2013 levels. Companies’ class action dockets increased on average by one new case in 2014, bringing the average number of class actions managed to five. This total is expected to remain constant in 2015, as the number of new matters is likely to be offset by those resolved. As before, ... Keep Reading »
Illinois District Court Denies Certification of Class in TCPA Claim for Lack of Typicality, Adequacy, Numerosity and Ascertainability
The Northern District of Illinois denied certification of a class in a claim brought pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), 47 U.S.C. Sec. 227. Plaintiff alleged that defendant violated the TCPA by sending it unsolicited faxes promoting defendant's catering services. In discovery, plaintiff obtained a fax log demonstrating that Defendant sent 3,000 faxes to 106 unique fax numbers. Plaintiff also obtained a template fax that defendant allegedly used ... Keep Reading »
District of Colorado Declines To Certify Deceptive Practices Class
The District of Colorado declined to certify a class in a case against Dollar Rent A Car where the Plaintiff alleged Dollar tricked renters into buying Loss Damage Waiver ("LDW"), supplemental liability insurance ("SLI"), and roadside assistance ("Roadsafe") (collectively "Add-On Products") that they had declined, or charged them without proper consent or contrary to disclosure requirements. Plaintiff alleged Dollar violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act and ... Keep Reading »
Northern District of California Grants Certification of Antitrust Class in 15 of 16 Jurisdictions Pursuant to Dukes and Comcast; Declines to Certify One Class Due to Lack of Class Representative
In a recent case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, plaintiffs brought a putative class action against various defendants involved in milk production, alleging they violated the antitrust laws of fifteen states and Washington, D.C. by engaging in a conspiracy to limit the production and increase the price of raw milk. Plaintiffs sought class certification in each of the sixteen jurisdictions; the Northern District granted the ... Keep Reading »
District Court Certifies TCPA Class Over Objections to Adequacy of Named Plaintiff and Individualized Issues of Consent
A New York federal district court, after holding an evidentiary hearing, certified a class for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Plaintiff alleged that the defendant, a collection agency, repeatedly called his cell phone using an automated dialing system without his consent, including after being told that he was not the party defendant was trying to reach and after plaintiff had asked to be put on a “do not call” list. Plaintiff ... Keep Reading »