An Illinois federal district court has ruled that a class plaintiff whose motion for class certification was denied may not avoid that outcome by amending his complaint to introduce a new legal theory and revised class definition if the complaint could have been amended prior to moving for class certification. Chapman’s initial attempt to certify claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act failed because the Court found that individual issues would predominate ... Keep Reading »
Federal District Courts Class Action Articles
The latest class action developments and trends in Federal District Courts, including news, key cases, and strategies.
District Court Decertifies Class based on Dukes, Comcast and Tenth Circuit Precedent
Plaintiff sued for underpayment or nonpayment of royalties on natural gas produced from wells in Kansas due to defendant’s failure to place the gas in marketable condition. The district court initially certified the class in 2011. Defendant moved to decertify the class in 2013 based on the United States Supreme Court opinions in Dukes and Comcast together with two recent Tenth Circuit opinions vacating class certification orders in similar oil and gas royalty cases: ... Keep Reading »
Certification Denied for Purchasers of Product Awash with Design Differences
The Central District of California denied Plaintiff’s motion to certify a class of purchasers of Defendant’s washing machines that contain an air hose connected to an air dome. Plaintiff alleged the connection between the hose and dome was defective and could come loose under normal operation. As a result, the washer would overflow and cause substantial property damage or personal injury. The court found Plaintiff failed to meet his burden of showing that the ... Keep Reading »
Lack Of Predominance, Superiority, And Ascertainability Foreclose Mortgagors’ Proposed Class Action Alleging Kickbacks In Violation Of RESPA
The Central District of California denied certification of a putative nationwide class of mortgagors, holding that numerous individualized issues precludeda finding of predominance, superiority, or ascertainability. In particular, the plaintiffs alleged that defendant’s subsidiary escrow companies violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act’s kickback prohibition by accepting payments from delivery companies, such as UPS, FedEx, and OnTrac, in exchange for ... Keep Reading »
California District Court Denies Certification of Putative Class of Plaintiffs Alleging Violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act
The U.S. District court for the Northern District of California denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification because the proposed class did not satisfy Rule 23’s ascertainability and predominance requirements. Plaintiffs’ class action complaint alleged that Hulu violated the Video Privacy Protection Act by disclosing video selections and “personally identifiable information” to third parties such as Facebook. At the class certification hearing, the plaintiffs ... Keep Reading »
Amended Class Definition That Excludes Putative Class Member Does Not Preclude American Pipe Tolling
The Eastern District of Michigan recently held that certain claims of a putative class member were tolled under American Pipe & Constr. Co. v. Utah., 414 U.S. 538 (1974), even though the named plaintiff had unsuccessfully moved for certification of an amended class whose definition excluded the putative class member’s claims. In 2013, Plaintiff Machesney filed a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) class action against Ramsgate Insurance Company in the Eastern ... Keep Reading »
Federal Court Addresses American Pipe Tolling, Finding Statute of Limitations on Class Claims Accrued Upon Forum Non Conveniens Dismissal of Prior Putative Class Action
A Delaware federal district court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims on statute of limitations grounds, rejecting plaintiffs’ argument that the claims had been tolled under the principles of cross-jurisdictional tolling. The case involves claims of injuries allegedly caused by the use of dibromochloropropane (DBCP”) on plantations in several Latin American countries. A first putative DBCP class action was filed in Texas state court in 1993, was ... Keep Reading »
District Court Rejects Nationwide Class, But Certifies California-Only Consumer Class After Conducting Rigorous Analysis of Damages Models Under Comcast
In Werdebaugh v. Blue Diamond Growers, the plaintiff brought suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to certify a nationwide class of consumers who purchased Blue Diamond almond milk products containing allegedly false and deceptive labels. He alleged violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. The plaintiff moved for certification of a class seeking injunctive ... Keep Reading »
Courts Reject Attempts to Pick Off Named Plaintiffs Via Offers Of Judgment
Following the Supreme Court’s 2012 recognition of concurrent federal and state jurisdiction over Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) class actions in Mims v. Arrow Financial Services, federal courts have issued numerous decisions addressing certification of TCPA classes that may be of broader interest to class action lawyers. (By way of example, see our May 20, 2014 post: Ohio District Court Strikes Impermissible "Fail-Safe" Class Allegations.) Two recent TCPA ... Keep Reading »
West Virginia District Court Certifies Rule 23(b)(3) Class Of Plaintiffs Alleging Violations Of Fair Credit Reporting Act Section 1681(g)
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia certified a Rule 23(b)(3) class, holding that the class was sufficiently ascertainable and satisfied the requirements of Rule 23(b)(3). Plaintiff’s class action complaint alleged that Quicken Loans violated section 1681g(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act by failing to provide credit score disclosures “as soon as reasonably practicable” after obtaining the plaintiff consumer’s credit report. Plaintiff ... Keep Reading »
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