Plaintiff, hoping to recover from Equifax for issuing a credit report with "incorrect and damaging information," sought to represent a class of "all persons who disputed an Equifax credit report and where Equifax failed to apply the proper and appropriate [Fair Credit Reporting Act, (“FCRA”)] procedures." On defendant's motion to strike these class allegations, the federal district court in New Jersey said, "this Court would never grant a motion for class certification ... Keep Reading »
Striking of Class Allegations Articles
The latest striking of class allegations developments and trends, including news, key cases, and strategies.
Ninth Circuit Reverses Order Striking Class Allegations in Microsoft Xbox Case
The Ninth Circuit reversed an order striking class allegations against Microsoft reasoning that the Washington district court misapplied its precedent and thereby abused its discretion. Plaintiffs alleged that a design defect in Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game console made it unable to withstand vibrations during normal game playing conditions and caused game discs to become scratched and unplayable. Microsoft countered that the majority of Xbox units do not manifest the ... Keep Reading »
GCs facing more bet-the-company and higher exposure class actions
Across industries, companies spent $2 billion on class action lawsuits in 2014, slightly less than the $2.1 billion they spent in 2013. This year, spending is expected to return to 2013 levels. Companies’ class action dockets increased on average by one new case in 2014, bringing the average number of class actions managed to five. This total is expected to remain constant in 2015, as the number of new matters is likely to be offset by those resolved. As before, ... Keep Reading »
District Court Strikes Homeowners Policyholders’ Class Action Allegations
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted defendant State Auto's motion to strike plaintiffs' class allegations, holding that the complaint itself demonstrated that the proposed class was not ascertainable and could not satisfy Rule 23(a)'s commonality and typicality requirements, nor the predominance and superiority requirements of Rule 23(b). The complaint alleged that State Auto committed fraud, breached the duty of good faith and ... Keep Reading »
Florida District Court Rejects Motion To Strike But Allows Pre-Certification Standing Challenge In Snack Food Labeling Case
Before class certification hearings occur in the Southern District of Florida, defendants may not challenge plaintiff's class allegations via Rule 12(f) motions to strike but may challenge plaintiff's standing via motions to dismiss. In Bohlke v. Shearer's Foods, LLC, plaintiff sought to represent a Florida class and alternative nationwide class of purchasers of five flavors of defendant's rice chips. Plaintiff alleged that defendant's "all natural" labels were false ... Keep Reading »
Court Grants Motion to Strike Class Allegations
In granting a recent motion to strike class allegations, the Northern District of Illinois made two notable observations about such motions: first, they are not disfavored, but rather an appropriate device for determining whether a class action can proceed; and second, that in analyzing the putative class for conflicts, the court is not limited to the face of the complaint. In the case, plaintiff brought a putative class action alleging her employer withheld actual ... 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 »
Ohio District Court Strikes Impermissible “Fail-Safe” Class Allegations
In a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) case, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio struck plaintiff’s class action allegations because Plaintiff proposed a “fail-safe” class in which membership was dependent on the validity of the putative class member’s claim. A fail-safe class is impermissible because it includes only those who are entitled to relief. Either the class members win on the merits, or by virtue of losing, they are not in ... Keep Reading »
Court Strikes Class Allegations Against Lender and Foreclosure Service Providers for Failure to Satisfy Rule 23(a)(2)’s Commonality Requirement
The Northern District of Illinois recently granted a motion to strike class allegations prior to class discovery. Plaintiff mortgagor alleged, inter alia, that in foreclosure proceedings, defendants engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (“ICFA”) by entering and possessing his and putative class members’ homes before the mortgagee had legal possession of the ... Keep Reading »
Court Strikes Class Action Allegations Citing Individualized Causation Issues
A Pennsylvania federal district court granted defendant CitiMortgage’s motion to strike class allegations under Rule 23(d)(1)(D), because it was clear from the complaint that plaintiffs could not meet the requirements for maintaining a class action and were unlikely to be able to substantiate their class allegations through discovery. Plaintiffs were homeowners who, after defaulting on their mortgage, commenced a class action against three defendants related to the ... Keep Reading »