Khasin v. R. C. Bigelow, Inc., No. 12-CV-02204-WHO, 2016 WL 1213767 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2016), provides a recent example of a class-certification denial premised on the “damages model” rule expressed in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 133 S.Ct. 1426, 1433 (2013). As the Northern District of California expressed it: “To satisfy Rule 23(b)(3)’s predominance requirement, a plaintiff must demonstrate that ‘damages are capable of measurement on a classwide basis….’ At class ... Keep Reading »
Court Holds Notice of Removal Filed 128 Days After Service of Complaint Was Timely Under CAFA
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied plaintiffs’ motion to remand, holding that defendants’ notice of removal, filed 128 days after service of the complaint, was timely because neither the complaint nor plaintiffs’ briefing on defendant’s motion to dismiss triggered the 30-day time period for removal under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). In doing so, the court concluded that, where plaintiffs’ complaint and other litigation documents did ... Keep Reading »
Questions About Delivery Drivers’ Employee/Independent Contractor Status Preclude Commonality and Predominance Findings
A New Jersey district court denied certification of a putative class of furniture delivery drivers and helpers employed by various transportation companies (the “Driver/Helpers”) and individuals who owned those transportation companies. The court held that individualized questions regarding whether the plaintiffs should be classified as employees or independent contractors precluded findings of commonality and predominance. The defendant, MXD, Inc., a company that ... Keep Reading »
Will Tender of Full Amount of Named Plaintiff’s Claim Moot a TCPA Class Action?
In Campbell-Ewald Co. v Gomez, 136 S.Ct. 663 (2016), the Supreme Court held that Rule 68 offers of judgment to a class representative do not moot a class action. See https://classifiedclassaction.com/supreme-court-rules-unaccepted-rule-68-offer-judgment-cannot-moot-class-action/. The Supreme Court left open the possibility that an actual tender of the full amount of plaintiff’s claim, evidencing an intent to pay – as opposed to a mere contract offer, would moot the ... Keep Reading »
Reverse Cycle! Eleventh Circuit Reverses “Smelly Washing Machine” Class Certification Due to Outmoded Standard
In the latest class action involving front-loading washing machines, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the certification of two statewide Texas and California classes of purchasers contending that the front door seal on early models of the appliances was defective and created a foul odor. In so ruling, the court bucked the trend of the Sixth and Seventh Circuits, which had affirmed certification of similar classes. See In re Whirlpool Corp. Front-Loading Washer Prods. Liab. ... 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 »
Sample This! Tyson Employee Class Wins Significant but Narrow Supreme Court Victory
Tyson Foods lost its bid to overturn an almost $3 million class action judgment against it in a case brought by workers at an Iowa pork-processing factory who contended they did not receive overtime pay for time spent “donning and doffing” protective equipment. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in a 6-2 decision. Because Justice Kennedy (who wrote the decision) and Justice Roberts joined the majority, the loss of Justice Scalia had no apparent impact on the ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit: Common Issues Do Not Predominate in Mortgage Borrowers’ Action
The Ninth Circuit affirmed an order denying class certification in a case involving allegations that a mortgage servicer wronged borrowers through its implementation of the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The Ninth Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying certification on the basis that individual issues predominated over common ones. Plaintiffs sought certification of eight statewide classes of individual ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court Won’t Resolve Multi-Circuit Split on Ascertainability Requirement
On February 29, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review in Mullins v. Direct Digital, LLC, No. 15-1776, an ascertainability case we previously covered when it was decided in the Seventh Circuit. In Mullins, a panel of the Seventh Circuit expressly split from decisions in the Third and Eleventh Circuits and held that a class plaintiff is not required to demonstrate the “administrative feasibility” of ascertaining a class. Instead, the panel applied a weaker ... Keep Reading »
Move Along; Nothing to See in Ninth Circuit’s TCPA Opinion
On February 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision affirming summary judgment in favor of the defendant on a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claim in Baird v. Sabre, Inc., ---F.App’x,---, 2016 WL 424778 (9th Cir. Feb. 3, 2016). The short opinion was designated by the panel as unpublished. Nonetheless, because of the relative paucity of published circuit court decisions on highly specific TCPA issues, district courts ... Keep Reading »
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- …
- 50
- Next Page »