In 2008, investors in the Parkcentral hedge fund lost as much as $3 billion dollars when Parkcentral’s investment in commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) was devalued. The investors, limited partners of Parkcentral, sued employees of Parkcentral’s general partner alleging that they breached fiduciary duties by making material misrepresentations and omissions regarding the nature of Parkcentral’s investments and hedging strategy. In particular, the investors ... Keep Reading »
District Court Cleans Up Whirlpool Washing Machine Class Definition
Having requested and obtained certification of a class of consumers who had purchased a number of Whirlpool Duet model washers allegedly susceptible to serious mold problems, Plaintiffs later sought to limit the class so as to exclude certain models. Whirlpool opposed the modification and, instead, sought decertification. The Northern District of Ohio granted Plaintiffs’ motion in part, modifying the class, and denied Whirlpool’s motion to decertify. In setting ... Keep Reading »
Seventh Circuit Addresses Burden of Proof Under CAFA’s Home State Exception, Affirms Denial of Remand and Award of Costs to Defendant Insurer, and Admonishes Class Counsel
The Seventh Circuit recently addressed the applicability of the home state exception under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”). The case arose from health insurer Right Choice Insurance Company’s withdrawal from the Illinois market and cancellation of its insurance policies. Former policyholders filed a putative class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois alleging that cancellation of their policies violated ... Keep Reading »
California District Court Denies Motion to Strike Rule 68 Offer of Judgment to Putative Class Representative, But Grants Motions to Strike Certain Affirmative Defenses For Failure to Comply with Twombly’s and Iqbal’s Heightened Pleading Standard
In a recent case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, a plaintiff brought a putative class action alleging that defendants, a creditor and a debt collection firm, sent debt collection notices that failed to disclose the current creditor’s name in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and the California equivalent. One defendant made an offer of judgment to the plaintiff pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil ... Keep Reading »
Fourth Circuit Vacates Certification of Five Classes as “Manifestly Improper”
Plaintiffs, alleged owners of an interest in coalbed methane gas (“CBM”), brought five related putative class actions against defendants, CBM producers, for alleged failure to pay royalties and for a declaration that owners of gas estates – not owners of coal estates – were the owners of CBM. The district court granted plaintiffs’ class certification motions, and defendants appealed. Finding that class certification was “manifestly improper,” the Fourth Circuit granted ... Keep Reading »
Third Circuit Denies Employees’ Petition For Rehearing In Class Arbitration Case
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals this week denied a petition for rehearing by the panel and the Court en banc in the Opalinski v Robert Half International, Inc. matter, where last month it held that the availability of class arbitration is a substantive question of arbitrability for the court (not the arbitrator) to decide, absent clear agreement otherwise. See our prior post about that opinion here. Opalinski v. Robert Half International, Inc., No. 12-4444 (3d ... Keep Reading »
Court Denies Remand Holding CAFA’s Amount In Controversy Requirement Was Met
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied plaintiff’s renewed motion to remand, holding that defendants had demonstrated that it was plausible that CAFA’s amount in controversy requirement had been exceeded and plaintiff had failed to make an irrevocable commitment to obtain less than $5,000,000 in damages. The district court initially granted plaintiff’s motion to remand but, as we previously reported, the Seventh Circuit ... Keep Reading »
Court Denies Certification Citing Putative Class Representative’s Criminal History
In Dunford v. American Databank, LLC, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by including within her criminal background report charges that were more than seven years old. The plaintiff sought to certify two nationwide classes. The court found that, among other impediments to certification, the proposed class representative was inadequate because of her prior criminal convictions and her arrest and felony charge during the ... Keep Reading »
Class Representative’s Motion To Remand For Insufficient Amount In Controversy Doesn’t Add Up
A Kentucky federal court recently ruled that a class plaintiff may not defeat removal by understating the aggregate amount in controversy alleged in her complaint. The defendants had assisted plaintiff in connection with her claim for Social Security Disability benefits after she was referred to them by her long-term disability insurance carrier. According to plaintiff, the nature of the fee arrangement between the defendants and the referring insurance carriers ... Keep Reading »
Exaggeration of Counsel’s Class Action Experience Draws Rule 11 Sanction
New York District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin found class counsel’s allegation that they were experienced and competent was false because they could not provide any case in which they were certified as class counsel or recovered monetary relief for class member. As a result, the court found that class counsel violated Rule 11. The court declined to award attorney fees as a sanction, however, finding that the public reprimand was a sufficient deterrent. The Rule 11 ... Keep Reading »
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