Even before the current pandemic crisis, we have noticed a growing trend in the filing of class action lawsuits challenging, under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), notices required to be issued by covered employers regarding continuation health care coverage available to employees and their beneficiaries under a variety of circumstances, including involuntary or voluntary job loss. We believe that trend will only accelerate in the wake of ... Keep Reading »
Health Care Class Action Articles
The latest class action developments and trends in the health care industry, including news, key cases, and strategies.
Fall Data Breach Roundup and 2018 Preview: Supreme Court, OPM, Equifax and More!
As 2017 draws to a close, data breach class actions abound, while questions regarding what suffices for Article III standing in these cases remain—with litigants hoping the Supreme Court will soon weigh in. Earlier this year, as previously reported, the D.C. Circuit decided Attias v. CareFirst, No. 16-7108 (Aug. 1, 2017), a putative class action filed after the health insurance company suffered a data breach that affected more than one million records. After the D.C. ... Keep Reading »
Kansas Judge Rejects Discovery From Putative Class Members
A magistrate judge in Kansas denied the defendant’s request to conduct discovery of putative class members via a voluntary questionnaire. Plaintiff Hapka filed a class action against home health care provider CareCentrix stemming from a 2016 data breach of employees’ personal information, including wage and tax statements. Plaintiff alleged a fraudulent tax return was filed in her name following the cyberattack and that she continued to be at a heightened risk for tax ... Keep Reading »
Are DC Federal Courts the Next Hotbed for Data Breach Class Actions?
We have previously reported on the evolving circuit split over standing in data breach class actions. On August 1st, a three judge panel for the District of Columbia Circuit became the latest to weigh in on the issue. In Attias v. CareFirst, the DC Circuit panel joined the Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits in finding that fear of future identity theft in the wake of a data breach satisfied the injury in fact requirement for standing under Article III of the United ... Keep Reading »
Class Action and Regulatory Settlements Reflect the Rising Cost of Data Breaches
As the number of data breaches continues to increase, so too do the costs. After a breach occurs, companies typically expend significant sums conducting investigations, notifying customers and regulators, and engaging in public relations. They incur additional expenses enhancing security and providing identity protection services to victims. And then, of course, there are legal fees, involving both litigation and compliance, which can add up to more than half the total ... Keep Reading »
Class Notice Online Works Just Fine
In a case involving alleged violations of ERISA and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, the District Court of the Western District of Kentucky certified a class of Anthem Health Plan insureds who were denied coverage or reimbursement for Applied Behavior Analysis, a particular treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders. The court then ordered plaintiff to submit a proposed draft notice to be sent to class members. The parties agreed (for the most part) on the ... Keep Reading »
Another One Bites the Dust: Maryland Federal District Court Dismisses Putative Data Breach Class Action for Lack of Standing
The United States District Court of Maryland recently dismissed a putative class action alleging that CareFirst’s failure to adequately secure the computer hardware storing their customers’ personal information led to two separate data breaches in June 2014 and May 2015. Plaintiffs alleged that CareFirst knew or should have known that a data breach could have occurred because the information stolen is “highly coveted by and a frequent target of hackers.” Plaintiffs also ... Keep Reading »
2016 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey Reveals Important Trends in Class Action Management
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 »
No Certification Where Class Representatives Have Conflicting Interests
Seventy-eight of the over 4,000 Michigan childcare providers who received state subsidies for offering services to low-income families voted to oppose having their union dues deducted from their subsidy payments. Six of the dissenting providers then filed a putative class action seeking equitable relief and monetary damages alleging that the dues deduction requirement in their collective bargaining agreement violated their First Amendment rights. The proposed class ... Keep Reading »
Middle District of Florida Remands Insurance Coverage Class Action, Reasoning Amount In Controversy Is Determined From Value Of Claim, Not Policy
The value of the claim at issue, not the value of the policy limit, is considered for purposes of determining the amount in controversy in an insurance coverage class action. That, the Middle District of Florida found, is the law in the Eleventh Circuit. The plaintiff in Faust v. Maxum Casualty Insurance Company filed in state court a class action against his insurer on behalf of persons covered for Medical Payments coverage under a Florida property, casualty, surety, ... Keep Reading »