Today the United States Supreme Court granted and consolidated three petitions for certiorari related to the validity of class action waiver clauses in employer/employee arbitration agreements. The Court has consolidated the petitions in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (No. 16-285), Ernst & Young v. Morris (No. 16-300), and NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc. (No. 16-307). Classified previously blogged about the Ninth Circuit’s decision finding Ernst & Young’s class ... Keep Reading »
United States Supreme Court Class Action Articles
The latest class action developments and trends in the United States Supreme Court, including news, key cases, and strategies.
The Future of Standing in Data Breach Class Actions
In today’s world, as technology costs decrease and personal information becomes more valuable on the black market, data breaches have seemingly joined the ranks of death and taxes as certainties. Add to that litigation: companies suffering data breaches face exposure to lawsuits by consumers, employees, and even financial institutions. One particular concern for companies is the possibility of costly consumer class actions. Though such lawsuits still account for fewer ... Keep Reading »
California Court Rejects Attempt to Overturn Judgment Based on Spokeo
A defendant who lost a bench trial in a certified class case alleging that it violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act by forcing the plaintiff and class to use electronic funds transfer services to obtain loans sought to upend the verdict by arguing that the Supreme Court’s recent Spokeo decision made clear the plaintiff lacked Article III standing to sue. The court rejected that argument. In Spokeo, the Supreme Court ruled that for Article III standing to exist, a ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court Steers Clear of Consumer Standing Issue in Spokeo
The Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in Spokeo v. Robins. By a 6-2 vote, the Court reversed the Ninth Circuit decision that a class plaintiff who suffered no actual damages had standing to sue. But it did not address the merits of whether a plaintiff who has suffered no actual damages can nonetheless bring a class action on behalf of other putative class members who equally were not injured. Instead, the Court essentially punted and, in a narrow ... Keep Reading »
The Future of Class Actions: The Impact of Justice Scalia’s Death on Upcoming Rulings
There is no doubt that the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will have major repercussions on Supreme Court jurisprudence. A 30-year veteran of the Court, Justice Scalia was known for his originalist positions and scathing dissents. He was also the fifth conservative vote on a court that now finds itself divided, which has not only set off a bitter political fight regarding his replacement, but could have significant implications for litigants. Class ... Keep Reading »
SCOTUS Denies Review Regarding Pennsylvania Wal-Mart “Rest Break” Class Judgment
On April 4, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari review of a $188 million class-action judgment returned against Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania state court and later upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding claimed “rest break” and “meal break” violations. Only six plaintiffs testified on behalf of the class, and the plaintiffs’ experts used extrapolated evidence to calculate the total damages sustained (rather than actually determining the total damages ... Keep Reading »
2016 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey Reveals Important Trends in Class Action Management
The fifth annual edition of the Carlton Fields Class Action Survey has just been released, and in this year’s survey corporate counsel report that class action spending has increased after four consecutive years of decline. Spending is also projected to increase in 2016. This marks a key turning point. The Numbers Across industries, the companies surveyed report that they spent $2.1 billion on class action lawsuits in 2015. The number of companies facing at least one ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court Won’t Resolve Multi-Circuit Split on Ascertainability Requirement
On February 29, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review in Mullins v. Direct Digital, LLC, No. 15-1776, an ascertainability case we previously covered when it was decided in the Seventh Circuit. In Mullins, a panel of the Seventh Circuit expressly split from decisions in the Third and Eleventh Circuits and held that a class plaintiff is not required to demonstrate the “administrative feasibility” of ascertaining a class. Instead, the panel applied a weaker ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court’s Amgen Order Confirms That Fifth Third Bancorp’s ERISA Stock-Drop Pleading Standard Has Teeth
In a recent per curiam order granting the plan fiduciaries' petition for certiorari and reversing the Ninth Circuit, the United States Supreme Court made clear that it expects lower courts to faithfully apply the pleading requirements for ERISA "stock-drop" cases as articulated in the Court's earlier opinion in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, 134 S. Ct. 2459 (2014). This is welcome news for stock-drop defendants, who should still have a meaningful opportunity to ... Keep Reading »
Supreme Court Rules Unaccepted Rule 68 Offer of Judgment Cannot Moot Class Action
A divided Supreme Court ruled today in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, No. 14-857, that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer of judgment by a defendant cannot moot a putative class action. The decision settles a reserved question from Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk and resolves a circuit split on the issue. Justice Ginsburg’s majority opinion holds that an unaccepted Rule 68 settlement offer “has no force” and like other unaccepted contract offers, “creates no lasting right or ... Keep Reading »