Class Action

April 28, 2025
Miami Condo Fire Victims Win Class Certification

A Florida state court judge certified a class of more than 140 Miami residents displaced in a condominium fire in a lawsuit alleging the structure was not safely maintained, ruling that the case will proceed more efficiently and that will also financially benefit the individual plaintiffs.
April 28, 2025
9th Circ. Nixes COVID-19 App Suit Appeal Against Apple

The Ninth Circuit has once again shut the door on a doctor's suit accusing Apple of illegally refusing to distribute his COVID-19 tracking app through its app store, affirming a lower court ruling from October 2024 that denied his motion to reopen.
April 28, 2025
Green Group Says Shell Case Discovery Fees Are Too Costly

A Philadelphia-based environmental group suing Shell over pollution from a Western Pennsylvania chemical plant balked at a federal court's order that it pay 15% of the cost to resolve a discovery dispute, arguing it could be left with a potentially devastating tab.
April 28, 2025
Judge Wants Flight List In '3rd Country' Removal Case

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday ordered the government to give counsel for a group of deportees challenging their removal to El Salvador the names of everyone else on board at least two flights to that country that occurred after he entered a March order requiring additional due process protections.
April 28, 2025
Mich. Nurses Quit Claims Of Pay Withheld For Breaks Untaken

Two registered nurses agreed to drop their claims of unpaid wages against the two locations of a Michigan healthcare system they had accused in federal court of requiring them to work through meal breaks without pay, ending the case Monday in federal court.
April 28, 2025
5th Circ. Grants DOL 30-Day Stay In States' ESG Rule Appeal

The Fifth Circuit on Monday granted the U.S. Department of Labor's request to stay an appeal from Republican-led states in a suit challenging the agency's rule that allows retirement fiduciaries to consider issues like climate change and social justice when choosing investments, but limited the pause to 30 days.
April 28, 2025
Walgreens Opposes Merging 'Non-Drowsy' Labeling Suits

Walgreens is pushing back on a bid to consolidate two Illinois federal lawsuits alleging the "non-drowsy" label on some of the retailer's cough suppressant medications is misleading, saying the two cases involve different allegations and are at different stages, and arguing that consolidation would cause a delay in the litigation.
April 28, 2025
Class Attys Seek $6.5M Cut In $29.5M Plantronics Settlement

Lead counsel for Plantronics investors who secured a $29.5 million deal resolving claims the company used "channel stuffing" tactics to bolster revenue are seeking $6.5 million in fees, telling a California federal judge Friday the request is reasonable, given the strong recovery and their track record successfully prosecuting similar securities cases.
April 28, 2025
Boston Children's To Pay $3M In Retirement Plan Fee Suit

Boston Children's Hospital will pay $3 million to a class of participants in its retirement plan to settle claims that it saddled them with excessive fees.
April 28, 2025
Justices Won't Disturb 9th Circ.'s AT&T 401(k) Suit Revival

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear AT&T's bid for review of a Ninth Circuit panel decision reviving a class action against the telecom giant alleging mismanagement of an employee 401(k) plan, rejecting employers' request for more clarity from the court on the pleading standard for federal benefits lawsuits alleging excessive fees.
April 25, 2025
Baby Food Maker Keeps Win In Suit Saying It Concealed Toxins

The Ninth Circuit on Friday affirmed a summary judgment win for California-based Plum Organics, saying in an unpublished opinion that parents who accused the baby food maker of failing to disclose potential toxins in its baby food products didn't sufficiently prove that Plum's products pose an unreasonable safety hazard.
April 25, 2025
Nike Investors Say 'Brazen' NFT Rug Pull 'Decimated' Them

Nike was hit with a proposed securities class action on Friday accusing the athletic apparel giant of touting its nonfungible tokens before abruptly abandoning that business, in a "brazen rug pull" that left purchasers of Nike's NFTs "decimated."
April 25, 2025
Cadence Bank Customers Seek Final OK For $4.5M Fee Deal

Customers of Cadence Bank have asked an Arkansas federal judge to grant a final sign-off to a $4.5 million deal to end proposed class action claims over the bank's charging of a type of overdraft fee known as "authorize positive, settle negative" fees.
April 25, 2025
PacifiCorp Should Pay $96M To Wildfire Victims, Jury Told

Nine plaintiffs who fled from wildfires started by PacifiCorp's negligence should get $95.5 million in noneconomic damages, an Oregon state jury heard in closing arguments Friday, while PacifiCorp's lawyer told the jury to focus on what the evidence actually supports and award roughly $2.2 million in that category.
April 25, 2025
Judge Urges Creativity For Nonparties In Sprint Merger Row

T-Mobile, a group of Verizon and AT&T subscribers and a host of nonparty mobile carriers and network operators must try again to hash out a creative yet reasonable way to shield confidential information from the nonparties' anticipated discovery in litigation challenging T-Mobile's merger with Sprint, an Illinois magistrate judge has said.
April 25, 2025
Sutter Health To Pay $228M In Years-Old Antitrust Suit

A class of millions of health insurance premium payors asked a California federal judge Friday to greenlight an eleventh-hour $228.5 million settlement resolving their long-running claims that hospital chain Sutter Health drives up costs by pushing all-or-nothing network deals on insurers.
April 25, 2025
Up Next At High Court: Class Cert., Religious Charter Schools

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in five cases this coming week, including in disputes over whether courts can certify classes of plaintiffs when some members haven't suffered an injury and whether students alleging disability discrimination in public schools must meet a higher standard of proof to bring claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
April 25, 2025
Calif. Judge Rips Trump Admin's 'Whack-A-Mole' ICE Policies

A California federal judge deciding whether to issue a nationwide injunction in multiple cases challenging the government's termination of foreign students' F-1 visa records expressed frustration with the Trump administration's abrupt policy changes Friday, saying "it's a new world order every day — it's like whack-a-mole."
April 25, 2025
Live Nation Investors Get 1st OK For $20M Eras Tour-Tied Deal

Event ticketing giant Live Nation and its shareholders on Friday secured a California federal judge's initial green light for their proposed $20 million deal to end proposed class action claims alleging the company misled shareholders in the face of anticompetitive allegations involving its Ticketmaster subsidiary following its missteps selling tickets for pop star Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
April 25, 2025
Tesla, Allies Urge Reversal Of Musk's $56B Pay Veto

Pointing to solid Tesla stockholder approval of Elon Musk's $56 billion, multiyear compensation plan, the Chamber of Commerce's national office has urged Delaware's Supreme Court to reverse a Chancery Court strikedown of the plan and reconsider a $345 million winning-side class attorney fee.
April 25, 2025
Off The Bench: NIL Deal Drama, Oakley v. MSG, Transfer Rules

In this week's Off The Bench, the landmark $2.78 billion settlement to compensate college athletes hits a snag, a former New York Knick's assault case against Madison Square Garden may be on shaky ground, and Vanderbilt University's quarterback fights to protect his successful challenge against the NCAA's eligibility rules.
April 25, 2025
Defunct Media Co. To Pay $4.5M In NY WARN Act Case

Former digital media startup The Messenger has agreed to pay $4.5 million to a class of 275 workers who claimed in New York federal court that the company didn't give them enough notice about its layoffs and shutdown, the parties said on Friday.
April 25, 2025
NY Settles Class Action Over Delays In Special Ed Hearings

New York City and state officials agreed to overhaul how special education complaints are handled, settling a 2020 class action brought by students with disabilities who waited months for crucial services.
April 25, 2025
AAA Club To Pay $1M To Settle COBRA Notice Suit

An American Automobile Association club agreed to pay $1 million to resolve a proposed class action in Michigan federal court claiming that it failed to give workers notices for health insurance continuation coverage in a timely manner.
April 25, 2025
Barnes & Thornburg Adds Lewis Brisbois SEC Practice Leader

The chair of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement and litigation practice recently jumped to Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Washington to help lead a practice group there.

Editor's Picks

NFL Seeks To End Race-Based Concussion Tests After Outcry

The NFL said Wednesday it will push to end the use of "race-norming," which assumes Black former players start with lower baseline cognitive test scores, in assessing claims for payouts from the more than $1 billion concussion settlement amid allegations that it is discriminatory.

Expert Analysis

Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: April Lessons

In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four federal appellate court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving pretrial detainee bail funds, employment law, product defect allegations and claims of not providing proper pain medication at a jail.
Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.
Series

Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.
Opinion

It's Time To Reform Mass Arbitration

A number of recent lawsuits demonstrate how problematic practices in mass arbitration can undermine its ability to function as a tool for fair and efficient dispute resolution — so reforms including early case filtering, stronger verification requirements and new fee structures are needed to restore the arbitration system's integrity, says Kennen Hagen at FedArb.
10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.
How High Court's Cornell Decision Will Affect ERISA Suits

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cunningham v. Cornell, characterizing prohibited transaction exemptions as affirmative defenses, sets the bar very low for initiating Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation, and will likely affect many plan sponsors with similar service agreements, says Carol Buckmann at Cohen & Buckmann.
Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

The first quarter of 2025 was filled with the refinement of old theories in the property and casualty space, including in vehicle valuation, time to seek appraisal and materials depreciation, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.
Perspectives

The Benefits Of Aligning States On Legal Paraprofessionals

Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.
AI Use In Class Actions Comes With Risks And Rewards

The use of artificial intelligence in class actions holds promise for helping to analyze complex evidence, but attorneys and experts must understand how to use it correctly, and how to explain it clearly, say Simone Jones and Eric Mattson at Sidley and Anna Shakotko at Cornerstone Research.
10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.
An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.
Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.
Addressing Antitrust Scrutiny Over AI-Powered Pricing Tools

Amid multiple recent civil complaints alleging antitrust violations by providers and users of algorithmic pricing tools, such as RealPage and Yardi, digital-era measures should feature prominently in corporate compliance programs, including documentation of pro-competitive benefits and when to use disclosures, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Lessons From Pa. Wiretapping Class Action Dismissal

A recent wiretapping class action in Pennsylvania federal court resulting in the dispositive dismissal of the action provides key insights on how online notice and consent can be leveraged to directly address and mitigate legal risks and class action liability exposure, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.
Series

Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.