The 2023 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey found that the second most successful class action defense is the lack of any actual injury suffered by some or all of the class. It also found that this defense made a big jump in effectiveness from the previous year’s survey. Those findings may be related to the fact that just over two years ago, in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, the Supreme Court confirmed that “Article III does not give federal courts the power to order ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Standing Articles
The latest class action standing developments and trends, including news, key cases, and strategies.
Eleventh Circuit Vacates Class Settlement in GoDaddy TCPA Suit Based on Improper Class Definition
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently solidified an important rule about class standing: the definition of a class in a settlement agreement must be limited to class members with Article III standing. In Drazen v. Pinto, the Eleventh Circuit vacated the district court’s approval of a $35 million settlement agreement because the class definition included members who lacked Article III standing. Drazen involved a class action against GoDaddy.com ... Keep Reading »
Fitting a Square Plaintiff Into a Circle Class? No Can Do Says Florida Federal Court
A recent decision issued by Chief Judge Timothy J. Corrigan of the Middle District of Florida highlights a straightforward yet consequential class action principle: a plaintiff cannot serve as a class representative for a class to which he or she does not belong. The specific case is Gartrell v. J.J. Marshall & Associates Inc. In Gartrell, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Florida Consumer ... Keep Reading »
PAGA Claims Sent Down the River: Supreme Court Gives California Employers Major Victory in Viking Cruises Arbitration Case
Representative actions brought under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) have been the bane of that state’s labor lawyers’ existence since PAGA’s enactment in 2004. Thanks to this week’s Supreme Court decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, forward-thinking clients can say goodbye to all that. The PAGA Predicament PAGA enlists employees as private attorneys general to enforce California labor law. By its terms, PAGA authorizes an “aggrieved ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court: “Unharmed” Class Members Are Not Entitled to Damages; $40M TransUnion Judgment Reversed
On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in TransUnion v. Ramirez, a case addressing Article III standing in the context of a class action. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a split decision, had approved a $40 million award to a class of 8,185 individuals alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, despite serious questions regarding whether a large percentage of class members had suffered any real injury. The class ... Keep Reading »
Article III and Rule 23: Do We Stand Together or All on Our Own?
On December 16, 2020, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Ramirez v. TransUnion LLC. Specifically, the Supreme Court granted certiorari for the following question: Whether either Article III or Rule 23 permits a damages class action where the vast majority of the class suffered no actual injury, let alone an injury anything like what the class representative suffered. The Supreme Court’s certiorari ... Keep Reading »
A Class Action Settlement With a Chocolate Company Melts Away: Eleventh Circuit Issues En Banc Decision on Article III Standing Principles
On October 28, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split (7-3) en banc decision applying Spokeo principles to a claim that a vendor issued a receipt that included more digits from the plaintiff’s credit card than allowed by federal law. The en banc court ruled that the plaintiff did not establish Article III standing. As I reported two years ago after the panel’s decision, the basic background is as follows. This class action lawsuit alleged ... 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 »
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 »
Life May Not Be Fair, But Arizona Cannot Find Out Without Standing
The Sixth Circuit recently held that Arizona lacked standing to intervene in, and object to, a nationwide class settlement at the settlement fairness hearing. The underlying case involved Tristar Products' defective pressure cookers. The district court had certified three state classes for trial - Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Colorado - but after the first day of trial, the parties entered into a nationwide class settlement. The settlement allowed class members to receive a ... Keep Reading »
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