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 »
Mortgage Servicer Defeats Class Certification Over Collection Practices Allegedly Targeting Discharged Mortgage Debts
The Middle District of Florida recently denied a plaintiff’s motion for class certification concerning claims that a collection agency illegally and intentionally sent collection correspondence to mortgagees whose debts already had been discharged in bankruptcy proceedings. The plaintiff alleged violations of state and federal consumer protection laws because the debt collector allegedly made continued and repeated communications to him directly — not his counsel — ... Keep Reading »
Third Circuit Affirms Denial of Class Certification Because Expert’s Exclusion of Relevant Data From Analysis of Classwide Antitrust Impact Precluded a Finding of Predominance
The Third Circuit affirmed an order denying class certification because the plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient evidence of classwide antitrust impact, and thus, could not satisfy Rule 23(b)(3)’s predominance requirement. The plaintiffs alleged a conspiracy among truck manufacturers and transmission suppliers to monopolize the heavy-duty truck transmission market, resulting in artificially inflated prices for Class 8 trucks. Specifically, the plaintiffs asserted that ... Keep Reading »
Noodle This! The Yin and Yang of Two Courts, Two Antitrust Cases, Two Class Certification Motions, Two Daubert Challenges, Two Opposite Results, One Day Apart
Noodle this: Two significant orders on class certification in antitrust matters issued last week. Both were heavily influenced by the threshold determination of Daubert challenges to the plaintiffs’ expert evidence. In one court, the Daubert motions were denied and the classes were certified. In the other court, the expert evidence was excluded and the class certification requests were denied (and, indeed, two related classes were decertified). On January 19, 2017, ... Keep Reading »
Adequacy is Adequate: DC District Court Certifies Pacer Fee Class
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia certified a class of all individuals and entities who paid fees to obtain court records though the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. The proposed class representatives, three nonprofit legal advocacy organizations, overcame the government’s primary challenge to class certification, which was that they were not adequate class representatives. The National Veterans Legal Services ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Reaffirms Lozano, Holds Typicality Does Not Require Identical Injuries Among Class Members
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed orders by the District Court for the Northern District of California certifying two national classes in an action under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the California Unfair Competition Law (UCL). Plaintiffs, small businesses and small business owners, alleged fraudulent dealings in their leases of “point of sale” credit and debit card processing equipment from ... Keep Reading »
No Love For Proposed Consumer Class Settlements
Two consumer class actions recently hit a roadblock when courts denied final approval for class settlements. In In re Target Consumer Data Security Breach, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota preliminarily certified a settlement class in early 2015 and approved the parties’ agreement calling for a $10 million settlement fund to be distributed to the class. Subsequently, after overruling objections, including a challenge to the adequacy of the class ... Keep Reading »
Nothing Crafty About Michaels’ Disclosure Under Spokeo
A New Jersey District Court followed Spokeo’s Article III standing analysis and dismissed claims by three putative class representatives against Michaels Stores. Plaintiffs claimed that Michaels’ online employment application violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and similar New Jersey and California state laws by failing to provide notice of the store’s intent to obtain a background check in a dedicated, stand-alone document. Plaintiffs conceded their ... Keep Reading »
Worth the Wait?: SCOTUS to Hear Argument on Enforceability of Class Action Waivers in Employment Contracts During 2017 Term
As we previously reported, the Supreme Court granted petitions for certiorari in three lawsuits challenging the legality of arbitration agreements that bar workers from pursuing class actions. The Court consolidated the cases, Murphy Oil USA Inc., Epic Systems Corp., and Ernst & Young LLP for oral argument to resolve a circuit split over whether arbitration agreements that prohibit employees from pursuing work-related claims as a group violate the National Labor ... Keep Reading »
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