Class action spending increased for a fourth consecutive year, to $2.46 billion in 2018, accounting for 11.1% of all litigation spending in the United States, according to the 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey. While the number of companies that reported facing class actions in 2018 dropped slightly to 54%, the average number of matters per company increased from 6.3 in 2017 to 7.8 in 2018. Corporate spending on class actions increased nearly 10% in 2018. Spending ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: What do Corporate Counsel Predict as the “Next Wave” of Class Actions? Data Privacy and Security? TCPA? Antitrust? Wage and Hour?
More than half of legal decision-makers responsible for class actions believe data privacy and security will be the next wave of class actions, up from less than 30% in 2017. Most companies, however, have not faced a data privacy and security class action, and express moderate concern about facing one in the future. A large majority report that their company has an action plan in place to handle a data breach. According to the 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey, the ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: What Types of Class Action Matters Are Most Prevalent? Two Types Have Driven the Bulk of Class Action Spending Over the Last Five Years
Labor and employment and consumer fraud matters remain the two most common types of class actions. Together, they have driven the bulk of class action spending over the last five years. The 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey reports that labor and employment class actions accounted for 28.7% of matters and 26.1% of spending (up 4% from 2017), and consumer fraud class actions accounted for 24% of matters and 23.6% of spending (an increase of nearly 6%). Product ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: Is AFA Use in Class Actions Increasing, Decreasing, or the Same as Last Year?
The use of alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) in class action matters continues to fluctuate, according to the 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey. Companies rely on AFAs as a tool to drive budget predictability and litigation management efficiency. In the class action context, however, the use of AFAs tends to fluctuate year over year. After companies reported increased use of AFAs for three years in a row between 2011 and 2015, in subsequent years, the percentage ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: What Percentage of Class Action Lawsuits Are Settled? When do Most Settlements Occur?
Cases filed as class actions are most often resolved by settlement. The 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey reports that settlement rates for class actions continue to rise, up to 73.1% in 2018 from 70.8% the previous year. More than half of settlements typically occur before a class certification. Thirty-nine percent of matters filed as class actions are settled on an individual basis. Only 2% of cases filed as class actions go to trial. ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: True or False? The Amount of Time In-House Attorneys Spent Managing Class Actions Has Increased.
False! In-house attorneys spent approximately 20 hours per week dedicated to the defense of class actions. This is a decrease of approximately two hours per week from 2017, but remains high considering companies reported that their in-house lawyers spent only 13 hours per week on class action matters just two years ago. However, the decrease in hours is offset by an increase of in-house staffing for class actions — the first increase in headcount in five years. The ... Keep Reading »
No Speaking? No Standing!
On November 15, the Eleventh Circuit decided Cordoba v. DirecTV, LLC, further exploring the issue of when class actions achieve Article III standing. The plaintiffs alleged that DirecTV and the company with which it contracted for telemarketing services, Telecel Marketing Solutions Inc., violated the FCC regulation that requires telemarketers to maintain an internal do not call list. The class consisted of people who allegedly were repeatedly contacted despite informing ... 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 »
A Dart Across the Bow
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently underscored that removal practice under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) differs in some important respects from traditional removal practice in non-CAFA cases. It did so because, “[i]n some of our early cases interpreting CAFA, we adopted legal standards that were influenced by a general ‘presumption against federal jurisdiction.’” Now, of course, the Supreme Court in Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. v. Owens, 574 U.S. 81 ... Keep Reading »
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