Certification Class Action Articles

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

Security Guards Unable To Secure Certification Without Commonality

by Jacob R. Hathorn

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 »

Third Circuit Affirms District Court’s Denial Of Certification Of Nationwide Class Of Plaintiffs Alleging Consumer Fraud And Unjust Enrichment

by Clifton R. Gruhn

Plaintiffs alleged in their putative nationwide class action complaint that Quest Diagnostics was liable for consumer fraud, unjust enrichment, and violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act for overbilling putative class members and, in some instances, sending them improper written demands from debt collectors. The district court denied certification, holding that the fraud claims implicated the various laws of numerous states, making a class action ... Keep Reading »

Ninth Circuit Approves Statistical Sampling And Affirms Certification Of Overtime Class

by Jaret J. Fuente and Gary M. Pappas

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 »

Texas District Court Denies Class Certification for Hedge Fund Investors on Numerosity and Predominance Grounds

by Amanda Romfh Jesteadt and Gary M. Pappas

In 2008, investors in the Parkcentral hedge fund lost as much as $3 billion dollars when Parkcentral’s investment in commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) was devalued. The investors, limited partners of Parkcentral, sued employees of Parkcentral’s general partner alleging that they breached fiduciary duties by making material misrepresentations and omissions regarding the nature of Parkcentral’s investments and hedging strategy. In particular, the investors ... Keep Reading »

District Court Cleans Up Whirlpool Washing Machine Class Definition

by Jaret J. Fuente

Having requested and obtained certification of a class of consumers who had purchased a number of Whirlpool Duet model washers allegedly susceptible to serious mold problems, Plaintiffs later sought to limit the class so as to exclude certain models. Whirlpool opposed the modification and, instead, sought decertification. The Northern District of Ohio granted Plaintiffs’ motion in part, modifying the class, and denied Whirlpool’s motion to decertify. In setting ... Keep Reading »

Fourth Circuit Vacates Certification of Five Classes as “Manifestly Improper”

by Paul G. Williams

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 »

Court Denies Certification Citing Putative Class Representative’s Criminal History

by Clifton R. Gruhn

In Dunford v. American Databank, LLC, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by including within her criminal background report charges that were more than seven years old. The plaintiff sought to certify two nationwide classes. The court found that, among other impediments to certification, the proposed class representative was inadequate because of her prior criminal convictions and her arrest and felony charge during the ... Keep Reading »

Eleventh Circuit Affirms Securities Fraud Class Certification, Remands for Evidence to Rebut Presumption of Market Efficiency

by Charles W. Throckmorton and Steven Blickensderfer

In Local 703 v. Regions Financial Corp., No. 12:14168 (Aug. 6, 2014), the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the certification of a securities fraud class action brought by investors against Regions for allegedly misrepresenting its asset value and financial stability during the financial crisis, purportedly resulting in artificially high stock prices. The district court found that all class certification requirements had been met, and that the investors had introduced ... Keep Reading »

Ninth Circuit Finds Self-Identification By Class Members Does Not Satisfy Ascertainability Under Rule 23

by Carlton Fields

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s denial of class certification where a plaintiff failed to propose a plan to ascertain class members and therefore did not satisfy the manageability requirement of Rule 23(b)(3). Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants, a parking company and the City of Laguna Beach, California, had violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) by improperly printing the expiration dates of credit ... Keep Reading »

Ascertainability Issues Preclude Certification of a Class of Individuals Alleging Violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act