This week, an Eleventh Circuit panel, in a 2-1 decision, reversed the approval of an incentive payment to the named plaintiff, calling the payment an unauthorized bounty. The case involved a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action settlement that the majority characterized as being "just like so many others that have come before it." But this familiarity was "exactly the problem." According to the court, the district court "repeated several errors that, ... Keep Reading »
Search Results for: rule 23
Whither Objector Blackmail
The Seventh Circuit confronts “objector blackmail” and limits the extraction of “rents from the litigation process simply by showing up and objecting to consummation of the settlement.” On August 6, 2020, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the thorny “problem in class-action litigation known colloquially as ‘objector blackmail.’” The court confronted a situation in which three objectors filed an appeal after their objections were denied. But they dismissed ... Keep Reading »
High School Female Athletes Face Hurdles to Class Certification
The U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii recently denied female student-athletes’ motion for class certification under Title IX even though it rejected the defendants’ attacks on mootness and standing as well as Rule 23(a)’s requirements for commonality, typicality, and adequacy. Instead, the court found that the proposed class failed to satisfy the numerosity requirement that joinder would be impracticable. The underlying case centered on Title IX ... Keep Reading »
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Bankruptcy Preemption May Bar FDCPA and FCCPA Claims Either Way
After receiving a bankruptcy discharge, a borrower whose home is pending foreclosure has two options: stay in the home and, perhaps, make voluntary payments on the mortgage, or leave the home and start fresh. When a debt collector thereafter attempts to collect mortgage payments from that borrower, there may be grounds for a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) or one its state law variants, such as the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act ... Keep Reading »
Two Days in October Result in Two Different Rulings by District Court Judges in the Southern District of Florida Regarding Standing to Seek Injunctive Relief on Behalf of a Class
Federal district courts in Florida continue to be at odds over whether a class plaintiff who claims to have suffered a past injury based on a defendant’s violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) can pursue a claim for injunctive and declaratory relief in the absence of an allegation that the particular plaintiff is likely to suffer future injury or had suffered a past injury that is not redressable by a monetary award. Two decisions ... Keep Reading »
Through the Looking Glass: Damages “Warts” Wreck Injunction Class
Mirror, mirror on the class, are damages what you really asked? The Eleventh Circuit reversed an interlocutory order certifying an injunction class, rejecting the plaintiffs' ploy "to lop off all the damages-based warts and recast their claim as one for injunctive relief under Rule 23(b)(2)" after their attempt to certify a damages class was denied. The decision underscores the importance of looking beyond face value to determine whether the relief requested is truly ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Affirms Certification of Class Alleging Biometric Privacy Violations
The Ninth Circuit has issued its much-anticipated decision in a class action against Facebook involving alleged biometric privacy violations, affirming certification of a class. In Patel v. Facebook, the Northern District of California certified a class of Facebook users residing in Illinois who alleged that the social media giant violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by using facial-recognition technology "without obtaining a written release and ... Keep Reading »
Hearsay What? EDNY Finds That Class Certification Evidence Must Be Admissible
Lin v. Everyday Beauty is an Eastern District of New York decision addressing an issue that has divided district courts in the Second Circuit and elsewhere: Whether a federal court may consider inadmissible evidence when deciding a class certification motion. This district court found that it could not do so. The plaintiffs, former retail sales employees of the defendants, moved to certify a class of essentially everyone employed by the defendants, beauty supply ... Keep Reading »
Equal Pay and Class Action Implications
After winning the World Cup on Sunday with a thrilling 2-0 victory over the Netherlands, the U.S. women’s national soccer team laid claim to being the best women’s soccer team in history. They celebrated their victory at the trophy presentation to the deafening sounds of stadium chants. Not “USA, USA,” but “Equal pay, Equal pay.” The U.S. players had already sued their national federation, the U.S. Soccer Federation, for a pay increase, asserting that the men’s team ... Keep Reading »
A Unicorn Sighting? Fourth Circuit Affirms Certification of Defendant Class
Bell v. Brockett is an unusual case in several respects. Most notably, the Fourth Circuit affirmed certification of a defendant class, despite acknowledging that defendant class actions are "so rare they have been compared to unicorns." The court not only acknowledged the rarity of defendant class actions but also commented on their "inherent risks." Indeed, in a delightful footnote the court explained that although both unicorns and defendant class actions are rare, the ... Keep Reading »
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