On March 16, 2017, the Southern District of California certified a class action against the manufacturer of gingko biloba and Costco Wholesale Corporation, the seller. Plaintiff alleged, on behalf of a putative class of California purchasers of TruNature Gingko, that the product does not provide any mental clarity, memory, or mental alertness benefits. Plaintiff’s claims were brought under California's unfair competition law and California's Consumer Legal Remedies ... Keep Reading »
Nigerian Natural Gas Drilling Rig Explosion Class Action Blown Away
The Northern District of California recently denied a motion for class certification in a case against Chevron Corporation connected to a 2012 explosion at a Nigerian natural gas drilling rig and the environmental impacts of that explosion. The case had an extensive procedural history which saw numerous amended complaints, a series of revisions revising the putative class down from over 65,000 Nigerians to a fraction of that number, and multiple extensions of discovery ... Keep Reading »
Eleventh Circuit Finds Dual Citizenship Defeats CAFA Diversity
The Eleventh Circuit recently denied a petition to appeal an order remanding a putative class action to state court, finding the defendant corporations’ dual citizenship defeated minimal diversity under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in Georgia state court against two insurance companies, alleging a variety of state law claims and limiting the class to include only Georgia citizens. The defendant companies removed under CAFA. Both were ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court to Resolve Whether Failure to Disclose Under Item 303 of SEC Regulation S-K Gives Rise to Securities Fraud Claims
On March 27, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case of Leidos Inc., f/k/a SAIC Inc. v. Indiana Public Retirement System, a securities fraud class action. The case will resolve a circuit split over whether a failure to disclose under Item 303 of SEC Regulation S-K can give rise to a claim under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. Investor plaintiffs brought a putative class action against Science Applications International ... 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 »
No Pick-Off, No Problem: How a Pre-Certification Rule 68 Offer Survived (Twice)
A magistrate judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania denied plaintiff’s motion to strike a Rule 68 offer of judgment served prior to class certification. The Rule 68 offer in this case – unlike those at issue in numerous conflicting opinions culminating in the United States Supreme Court’s 2016 Campbell-Ewald decision – was not an attempt to “pick off” the named plaintiff because it also included the putative class members. ... Keep Reading »
Play Ball! California Federal Court Reconsiders Order Denying Minor League Baseball Players’ Motion For Class Certification
The Northern District of California recently renewed hope in a minor league baseball player class action wage dispute by granting the plaintiffs class certification after they narrowed the class. The court had previously denied class certification in July 2016, finding that the experiences of the class members varied too widely to satisfy Rule 23. The original class certification motion sought to certify “classes consisting of ‘[a]ll persons who under a Minor League ... Keep Reading »
Two Second Circuit Cases, Two Applications of Campbell-Ewald, Two Different Results, Three Weeks Apart
Within roughly three weeks, the Second Circuit issued two opinions applying the Supreme Court’s Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez decision to class action cases involving Rule 68 offers of judgment. On February 15, 2017, in Leyse v. Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, the Second Circuit upheld entry of judgment in a case brought by a plaintiff individually and on behalf of a putative class alleging violations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The plaintiff ... Keep Reading »
New York District Court Flushes Nationwide Class, Permits New York Classes to Go Forward
In three related actions before the Eastern District of New York, consumer plaintiffs who purchased moist toilet wipes manufactured and produced by Kimberly-Clark and sold by Costco alleged that defendants mislabeled the wipes as “flushable.” The court denied certification of a nationwide class, but did certify three New York class actions all involving New York law and New York purchases but different defendants and a different product. The court declined to certify ... Keep Reading »
A Not-So-Modest Proposal: Class Action Changes Could Have Big Impact
Like many things these days, the legal landscape is changing. One target is class action litigation. Some important new proposals have the potential to dramatically alter class actions in the near future. In particular, these changes would impact class certification and the settlement process. Rule 23 Amendments First, a spate of amendments may bring changes to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The comment period on the amendments closed on February 15th and the ... Keep Reading »
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