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Commonality Class Action Articles

The latest class action developments and trends in commonality, including news, key cases, and strategies.

Questions About Delivery Drivers’ Employee/Independent Contractor Status Preclude Commonality and Predominance Findings

March 29, 2016 by Clifton R. Gruhn

A New Jersey district court denied certification of a putative class of furniture delivery drivers and helpers employed by various transportation companies (the “Driver/Helpers”) and individuals who owned those transportation companies. The court held that individualized questions regarding whether the plaintiffs should be classified as employees or independent contractors precluded findings of commonality and predominance. The defendant, MXD, Inc., a company that ... Keep Reading »

2016 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey Reveals Important Trends in Class Action Management

March 22, 2016 by Chris S. Coutroulis and Julianna Thomas McCabe

The fifth annual edition of the Carlton Fields Class Action Survey has just been released, and in this year’s survey corporate counsel report that class action spending has increased after four consecutive years of decline. Spending is also projected to increase in 2016. This marks a key turning point. The Numbers Across industries, the companies surveyed report that they spent $2.1 billion on class action lawsuits in 2015. The number of companies facing at least one ... Keep Reading »

Court Allows Class Member Self-Identification Where Employer Failed to Retain Records

January 14, 2016 by Carlton Fields

The Northern District of California recently certified a class of employees in an action against an auto parts store for failure to reimburse expenses. Plaintiff alleged that the defendant required certain management-level employees—specifically, store managers, assistant store managers, and retail service specialists—to make daily bank deposits but did not reimburse them when they used personal vehicles to do so. Though the company had a standard policy regarding ... Keep Reading »

Third Circuit Reverses Denial of Class Certification in Complete Sham Telemarketing RICO Case

September 17, 2015 by David E. Cannella and Gary M. Pappas

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the denial of class certification in a case brought against a bank and its payment processors that allegedly engaged in a fraudulent scheme to cause unauthorized debits from consumer bank accounts.  Reynaldo Reyes, as class representative, filed suit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) against Zions First National Bank (“Zions Bank”) ... Keep Reading »

Western District of Missouri Declines to Deliver Certification in Class Action Based on Alleged Newspaper Subscription Overcharges

August 10, 2015 by David L. Luck

The Western District of Missouri denied class certification in an action alleging three regional newspapers—the Kansas City Star, the Fort Worth Star Telegram, and the Belleville News-Democrat—unlawfully double billed some of their subscribers by shortening the length of their subscriptions. The named plaintiffs, subscribers to the Kansas City Star only, alleged that without providing proper notice, the newspapers deducted additional charges for special or premium ... Keep Reading »

Rice Capades: Court Certifies a Class of Lead Lawyers Against Defendant Law Firms Who Allegedly Used the Class’s Work Product in Rice Litigation

August 7, 2015 by David E. Cannella and D. Matthew Allen

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 »

Certification Unhealthy: Ninth Circuit Vacates Order Certifying Class of Dietary Supplement Purchasers

July 2, 2015 by Carlton Fields

The Ninth Circuit vacated a class certification order issued by the Central District of California, finding that common issues did not predominate because plaintiff had failed to demonstrate that the alleged misrepresentation that formed the basis of her suit had been made to all putative class members. Plaintiff alleged that defendant, Supple LLC, violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, California’s False Advertising Law, and California’s Consumer Legal Remedies ... Keep Reading »

Single Plant Employment Discrimination Class Survives Dukes Challenge

May 27, 2015 by Cathleen Bell Bremmer and D. Matthew Allen

A divided panel of the Fourth Circuit ruled that a South Carolina district court judge improperly applied Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes in decertifying disparate treatment and disparate impact claims challenging promotion decisions under federal discrimination statutes on behalf of black employees at a single plant. In 2009, prior to Dukes, the Fourth Circuit had previously ordered the district court to certify both disparate treatment and impact promotion classes ... Keep Reading »

Avon Calling: Employees Allege Overtime Exemption Misclassification

May 19, 2015 by David L. Luck and Gary M. Pappas

Avon categorizes all of its district service managers (DSMs) under the "administrative" exception of California law that requires employers to pay overtime wages. DSMs are the Avon employees who recruit and train the independent retail contractors Avon uses to sell its products to the consuming public.  Plaintiffs – 19 former or current Avon DSMs – claimed Avon improperly treated them as exempt and sought to represent a Rule 23(b)(3) class. Relying on the California ... Keep Reading »

GCs facing more bet-the-company and higher exposure class actions

March 23, 2015 by Chris S. Coutroulis

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 »

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