The Second Circuit vacated a class certification order issued by the Southern District of New York, finding that Rule 23(b)(3)'s predominance and superiority requirements could not be met given the necessity of applying 27 states' laws to putative class claims for breach of fiduciary duty, legal malpractice and breach of contract. The case involved a "novel approach to dispute resolution that continues to provoke a debate among experts in legal ethics." The plaintiffs ... Keep Reading »
Commonality Class Action Articles
The latest class action developments and trends in commonality, including news, key cases, and strategies.
Circuit Court Holds Comcast Does Not Foreclose Certification of Labor Law Class With Individualized Damages
In a class action brought under the Fair Labor Standard Act and New York Labor Law, the Second Circuit court of appeals reversed the district court’s denial of class certification and held that the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend does not overrule the established principle that “the fact that damages may have to be ascertained on an individual basis is not sufficient to defeat class certification under Rule 23(b)(3).” Plaintiff alleged that ... Keep Reading »
Second Circuit Affirms Certification of Consumer Debt Collection Class, Distinguishing Comcast v. Behrend
These cases, on a consolidated appeal, involved three defendants: a company that purchased consumer debts, a debt collection law firm, and a process server. Plaintiffs had each been sued in various debt collection actions by defendants. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants obtained default judgments against them fraudulently by using a “default judgment mill,” whereby defendants would purchase the debt, issue summonses and complaints en masse, and automatically generate ... 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 »
Eighth Circuit Decertifies Four FDCPA Classes Where District Court Failed to Conduct Rigorous Analysis Required by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes
The Eighth Circuit recently held that a district court abused its discretion by certifying four classes of Nebraska consumers in an action against a debt collector and its attorneys for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act (“NCPA”) based on the defendants’ use of standard-form pleadings and discovery requests in state court collection actions. In so holding, the Eighth Circuit emphasized that the ... Keep Reading »
Second Circuit Affirms District Court’s Denial of Certification of Class of Investors Alleging Common Law Fraud Under New York Law
The Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of class certification of a class of investors based on the appellants’ failure to satisfy the numerosity and commonality requirements of Rule 23(a). Following the collapse of the Cheyne SIV in 2007, a structured investment vehicle structured by Morgan Stanley, the appellants sought to certify a class of sophisticated institutional investors that purchased notes from the SIV between 2004 and 2007. The class action ... Keep Reading »
Security Guards Unable To Secure Certification Without Commonality
A California federal district court recently denied a motion for class certification because the evidence presented in connection with the motion refuted plaintiffs’ attempted showing of commonality through uniform exposure to unlawful corporate policies. Paragon provides security services to hundreds of federal government sites throughout California under contracts with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Services. The company was sued by ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Approves Statistical Sampling And Affirms Certification Of Overtime Class
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed certification of a class of an estimated 800 current and former California-based Allstate Insurance Company adjusters who allege that Allstate has a practice or unofficial policy of requiring its hourly claims adjusters to work unpaid off-the-clock overtime in violation of California law. In certifying the class, the district court found that the question of whether Allstate had an unofficial policy of denying overtime payments while ... Keep Reading »
Fourth Circuit Vacates Certification of Five Classes as “Manifestly Improper”
Plaintiffs, alleged owners of an interest in coalbed methane gas (“CBM”), brought five related putative class actions against defendants, CBM producers, for alleged failure to pay royalties and for a declaration that owners of gas estates – not owners of coal estates – were the owners of CBM. The district court granted plaintiffs’ class certification motions, and defendants appealed. Finding that class certification was “manifestly improper,” the Fourth Circuit granted ... Keep Reading »
Ascertainability Issues Preclude Certification of a Class of Individuals Alleging Violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification citing plaintiffs’ failure to satisfy Rule 23’s ascertainability, commonality, typicality, and predominance requirements. The defendants, a debt collection agency and law firm, had filed state court complaints on behalf of medical providers in order to collect delinquent debts. The state court complaints included an exhibit listing providers who had allegedly ... Keep Reading »