The Fourth Circuit’s 2017 decision in Beck v. McDonald held that the mere fear of identity theft in the wake of a data breach was insufficient to confer Article III standing. Plaintiffs must do more. But how much more? The Fourth Circuit’s latest holding clarifies that plaintiffs who allege that credit cards have been fraudulently applied for – and in some cases issued – using their nonpublic personal information satisfy Article III’s requirements. Optometrists ... Keep Reading »
Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal Class Action Articles
The latest class action developments and trends in Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, including news, key cases, and strategies.
Are Administrative Fees and Costs a Benefit to the Class as a Whole? A Circuit Split Continues
In 2017, the Eighth Circuit reversed the certification of a settlement class in the Target 2013 security breach litigation. See In re Target Corp. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., 847 F.3d 608, 613 (8th Cir. 2017). The court remanded the case to the district court to conduct a proper class certification analysis. On remand, the district court again certified the settlement class. A second appeal was taken by two objectors and, this time, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the ... Keep Reading »
Aw Schnucks! Seventh Circuit Dismisses Data Breach Class Action by Financial Institution Plaintiffs Under Economic Loss Doctrine
The Seventh Circuit recently upheld the dismissal of a novel putative class action filed by financial institutions against grocer Schnuck Markets (“Schnucks”) based on the economic loss doctrine. Schnucks suffered a data breach that exposed nearly 2.5 million credit and debit cards over four months until the intrusion was discovered. Instead of being filed by the usual data breach class action featuring a putative class of customers, this case was filed by financial ... Keep Reading »
Third Circuit Rejects ‘Shingle Lottery’ Theory of Common Defect in Putative Homeowner Class
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court order denying certification to a group of homeowners in four states who alleged roof shingle manufacturer Owens Corning sold defective roof shingles and misrepresented their expected useful life. Specifically, plaintiffs alleged claims for breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, and violation of various state consumer protection statutes because the shingles installed ... Keep Reading »
A Pyrrhic Victory For Petitioner: Ninth Circuit Limits Consolidation of Class Cases
The Ninth Circuit recently denied relief on a petition for a writ of mandamus regarding an alleged erroneous transfer of a class action, despite agreeing with the petitioner that transfer was improper. In the action, a putative class plaintiff brought misrepresentation and fraud claims against defendants responsible for the production, distribution, and marketing of a weight loss supplement. The action was originally filed in the Southern District of California before ... Keep Reading »
Fifth Circuit Dashes Delivery Driver’s Bid to Keep Wage Hour Claims Out of Arbitration
In Edwards v. DoorDash, Inc., No. 17-20082 (5th Cir. Apr. 25, 2018), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its position that arbitrability of claims, including whether class or collective claims must be arbitrated individually, is a threshold question that must be determined by the court prior to deciding certification motions. In Edwards, a driver asserted claims against a food-delivery service under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), asserting that he was ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Gives Leg Up to Shoe Purchasers’ Data Breach Suit
On March 8, a Ninth Circuit panel held that fear of identity theft in the wake of a data breach satisfies the standing requirements of Article III of the United States Constitution. In so holding, the Ninth Circuit confirmed that its prior data breach standing precedent in Krottner v. Starbucks Corp., 628 F.3d 1139 (9th Cir. 2010) remained good law despite the Supreme Court’s 2013 holding in Clapper v. Amnesty International USA, 133 S. Ct. 1138 (2013). As we previously ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court Declines Review of Standing in Data Breach Class Actions
Counsel hoping for Supreme Court guidance on standing issues dividing the circuit courts will have to wait a bit longer. On February 20, the Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari in Attias v. CareFirst to resolve a circuit split over whether allegations of fear of future identity theft in the wake of a data breach satisfy the standing requirements of Article III of the United States Constitution. In the absence of Supreme Court guidance on this issue, we ... Keep Reading »
Too Fast and Furious: Ninth Circuit Unwinds Hyundai and Kia Nationwide Class Action Settlement
In a split panel, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s certification of a nationwide class action settlement because the lower court failed to conduct a sufficient predominance inquiry under Rule 23(b)(3). In 2012 Hyundai and Kia were accused of overstating their fuel efficiency estimates in advertisements and car window stickers for certain of their vehicles. A flurry of putative class action litigation ensued across the country, and the MDL ... Keep Reading »
Spokeo Seeks Supreme Court Round II
The Spokeo standing saga, which began in 2010, continues with a second cert petition to the Supreme Court. The case began when plaintiff filed a putative class action, alleging that defendant Spokeo violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (which provides for actual or statutory damages) because its “people search engine” published inaccurate data about him. The district court found plaintiff lacked standing because he had not suffered any actual damages; the Ninth Circuit ... Keep Reading »
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