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Class Action
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October 08, 2024
Home Depot Says Tool Rental Suit Makes No Sense
The Home Depot Inc. called on a Georgia federal judge to throw out a contracting company's claims it systematically overcharged tool rental program customers, arguing the company is trying to "reengineer" the tool-rental agreement in ways that "produce absurd results and otherwise make no sense."
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October 08, 2024
Pa. Justices Wary Of Linking Mask Tax To Consumer Harms
Several justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court seemed cautious Tuesday about extending the state's consumer protection law liability to retailers who collect sales tax on tax-exempt items, pointing to the state's refund system as an existing form of relief for overcharged customers.
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October 08, 2024
Justices Divided Over 'Prevailing Party' Status For Atty Fees
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared noncommital on Tuesday while grappling with what constitutes a "prevailing party" for the purpose of awarding attorney fees in civil rights lawsuits, a question that has broad implications for both government agencies and legal advocacy groups.
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October 08, 2024
Senior Renters Say Mass. Facility Charged Exorbitant Fees
A proposed class of low-income, elderly residents at an assisted living facility have told a Massachusetts federal court the facility's owner and operators charged an illegal "ancillary fee" calculated to extract all but a $100 monthly allowance from residents.
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October 08, 2024
1st Circ. Eyes Revival Of Welch's Execs' Pension Fight
The First Circuit appeared receptive Tuesday to former Welch's executives who are seeking to revive a suit claiming they were shortchanged by a supplemental retirement plan, with two judges pointing out conflict-of-interest disputes on appeal that the lower court left unaddressed.
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October 08, 2024
9th Circ. Affirms Atty Fee Reduction In Cathode Suit
A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel on Monday upheld a lower court's decision to cut more than $2 million from plaintiff's firm Cooper & Kirkham's $3.45 million fee award in a multidistrict litigation settlement over alleged cathode ray tube price-fixing litigation.
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October 08, 2024
Texas Class Wants Funding Firms To Face Hurricane Ad Suit
A Texas magistrate judge was wrong to recommend dropping litigation funding companies from a suit alleging a law firm deceptively advertised to hurricane victims, with a proposed class of storm victims arguing the funders must have been aware of the scheme when they loaned the firm $20 million.
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October 07, 2024
Mednax Gets Final OK For $6M Data Breach Settlement
A Florida federal judge on Friday gave the green light to Mednax's $6 million settlement putting to rest a proposed class action accusing the medical provider of failing to adequately protect patients' personal information from a 2020 phishing attack, calling the deal "fair, reasonable and adequate."
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October 07, 2024
Pepsi Employee Sues Over Health Plan's 'Tobacco Surcharge'
A Pepsi employee has hauled the snack and beverage multinational into New York federal court, alleging in a proposed class action that the company unlawfully imposes a "tobacco surcharge" on employees who use tobacco products while failing to adequately notify employees that they can instead join a company wellness program.
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October 07, 2024
Car Sharing App Getaround Faces BIPA Suit Over Facial Scans
Car sharing platform Getaround Inc. is facing a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing the company of illegally gathering, storing and disseminating its users' facial geometry scans obtained through a mandatory verification process, in violation of the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act.
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October 07, 2024
AbbVie's Top Brass Escape Suit Over Rinvoq Claims, For Now
An Illinois federal judge Friday tossed AbbVie investors' suit challenging directors' statements about the potential for its rheumatoid arthritis drug Rinvoq to be approved for other conditions, a possibility that collapsed over safety risks with Pfizer's competing drug Xeljanz, finding the investors don't allege the directors knew Xeljanz's results would affect Rinvoq.
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October 07, 2024
Boehringer Defends Zantac As Cancer Jury Trial Kicks Off
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals defended the company's heartburn medication Zantac during the defense's opening statements in a product liability trial Monday, telling California jurors that trial evidence will show the plaintiff never used Boehringer's over-the-counter Zantac products, and that other risk factors put him at risk of developing bladder cancer.
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October 07, 2024
Judge Presses AmEx On Arbitration Push For Merchants
A Rhode Island judge on Monday expressed skepticism about American Express' claim that it could force a proposed antitrust class action targeting the company's swipe fee rules back into arbitration after the plaintiffs say it already defaulted on arbitration fees.
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October 07, 2024
Attys Want $20M Fees For Netting $64M Tuna Price-Fixing Deal
Attorneys representing a class of purchasers who sued several canned tuna producers have asked a California federal judge for nearly $20 million in fees and costs associated with their recently inked $64 million settlement, saying the award is fair considering the effort the case took to prosecute and the complexity of the deal.
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October 07, 2024
UFC Fighters Urge Judge To Greenlight $375M Settlement
A group of UFC fighters on Monday sought preliminary approval of a $375 million agreement that would net many fighters over $1 million each and settle their Nevada federal court dispute with UFC over what they say is a history of suppressed wages.
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October 07, 2024
Tribe's 'No Regret' Gaming Ads Misleading, Fla. Residents Say
Ads from the gaming vendor of the Seminole Tribe of Florida promising to give bettors as much as $100 back if they lose their first wager is false, deceptive, misleading and unfair marketing that violates state law, despite the tribe's claims of sovereign immunity, according to an updated proposed class action in federal court.
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October 07, 2024
Merck Immune For 'Inflated' Vax Claims To FDA, 3rd Circ. Says
A divided Third Circuit panel inoculated Merck from claims that it tried to prevent competition by making inflated declarations to federal regulators about its mumps vaccine, with the majority ruling Monday that because Merck convinced federal regulators it had extended the vaccine's long-term potency, those assertions can't have been an anticompetitive "sham."
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October 07, 2024
Trade Desk Vote Plan For Nevada Move Challenged In Del.
Digital advertising technology company The Trade Desk Inc. and its top brass have been hit with a Delaware Chancery Court stockholder suit challenging the company's claimed approval threshold for reincorporation in Nevada, where stockholders face a tougher slog in challenging director and officer actions.
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October 07, 2024
Decision In Jurisdictional Case 'Outlier,' High Court Told
An attorney representing Royal Canin USA Inc. and Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. on Monday told the U.S. Supreme Court that a jurisdictional decision in a case over prescription dog food is both an "extreme outlier" and goes against more than a hundred years of precedent.
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October 07, 2024
3M Facing PFAS Headwinds In Vermont, NJ And Ohio Cases
3M Co., which is facing forever chemical lawsuits across the country, is dealing with pushback from Vermont, which is fighting 3M's effort to take its state court case into federal court, and from plaintiffs in Ohio and New Jersey, who have kept their litigation out of a sprawling multidistrict litigation.
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October 07, 2024
Amazon Breaking Wash. Noncompete Law, Workers Say
A proposed class of Amazon warehouse and retail workers have accused the company of forcing them into noncompete clauses in violation of a Washington law aimed at protecting the mobility of lower wage workers.
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October 07, 2024
Nationstar Mortgage Fails To Dodge Proposed Fee Suit Action
A Washington federal judge refused Monday to let Nationstar Mortgage LLC escape a putative class action accusing the mortgage loan servicer of illegally charging fees for loan payoff statements.
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October 07, 2024
Target's '100% Pure' Avocado Oil Not So Pure, Suit Says
Target customers hit the retailer with a putative class action in California federal court alleging its line of Good & Gather avocado oil is not 100% pure as the label suggests, and instead may contain additives like other lesser quality oils.
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October 07, 2024
Justices Want SG's Take On Union Pension Withdrawal Case
The U.S. Supreme Court asked the federal government Monday to weigh in on an employer-side petition in a fight over what actuarial assumptions multi-employer pension funds are allowed to use under federal benefits law when determining an employer's withdrawal liability.
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October 07, 2024
Calif. Landlord Sued By Tenants Over 'Hidden' Rent Fees
A California multifamily landlord responsible for over 60,000 apartments wrongfully charged tenants "hidden and misleading" rent fees, a proposed class of tenants has claimed in California federal court.
Expert Analysis
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Takeaways From Tossed Deal In Visa, Mastercard Class Action
Given the rejection of a proposed deal in the long-running merchant antitrust class action against Visa and Mastercard in New York federal court, sweetening the proposed settlement pot likely will not be an option, leaving few possible outcomes including splitting the class and allowing opt-outs, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Weight-Loss Drugs May Spur Next Major Mass Tort
With lawsuits concerning Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs potentially becoming the next major mass tort in the U.S., companies should consider key defense strategies ranging from alternate dispute resolution to enhanced drug safety, say Dino Haloulos and Jarif Khan at Foley & Mansfield.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Rare MDL Moments
Following a recent trend of rare moments in baseball, there are a few rarities this year in multidistrict litigation panel practice, including an unusually high rate of petition grants, and, in one session, a two-week delay from hearing session day to the first decision, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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2 Lessons From Calif. Overtime Wages Ruling
A California federal court's recent decision finding that Home Depot did not purposely dodge overtime laws sheds light on what constitutes a good faith dispute, and the extent to which employers have discretion to define employees' workdays, says Michael Luchsinger at Segal McCambridge.
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American Airlines ESG Ruling Could Alter ERISA Landscape
The Spence v. American Airlines ESG trial, speeding toward a conclusion in a Texas federal court, could foretell a dramatic expansion in ERISA liability, with plan sponsors vulnerable to claims that they didn't foresee short-term dips in stock prices, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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SVB Ch. 11 Shows Importance Of Filing Proof Of Claim Early
After a New York bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in SVB’s Chapter 11 case denied late claims filing requests related to post-bar date events, parties with potential claims against a debtor may need to seriously consider filing protective proofs of claim, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.
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Del. Dispatch: 27.6% Stockholder Not A Controller
The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Sciannella v. AstraZeneca — which found that the pharma giant, a 26.7% stockholder of Viela Bio Inc., was not a controller of Viela, despite having management control — shows that overall context matters when challenging transactions on breach of fiduciary duty grounds, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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2 Rulings Serve As Conversion Fee Warnings For Banks
A comparison of the different outcomes in Wright v. Capital One in a Virginia federal court, and in Guerrero v. Bank of America in a North Carolina federal court, highlights how banks must be careful in describing how currency exchange fees and charges are determined in their customer agreements, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.
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Dueling Calif. Rulings Offer Insight On 401(k) Forfeiture Suits
Two recent decisions from California federal courts regarding novel Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims around 401(k) forfeitures provide early tea leaves for companies that may face similar litigation, offering reasons for both optimism and concern over the future direction of the law, say Ashley Johnson and Jennafer Tryck at Gibson Dunn.
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How NJ Worker Status Ruling Benefits Real Estate Industry
In Kennedy v. Weichert, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently said a real estate agent’s employment contract would supersede the usual ABC test analysis to determine his classification as an independent contractor, preserving operational flexibility for the industry — and potentially others, say Jason Finkelstein and Dalila Haden at Cole Schotz.
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Loss Causation Ruling Departs From Usual Securities Cases
A California federal court recently dismissed Ramos v. Comerica, finding that the allegations failed to establish loss causation, but the reasoning is in tension with the pleading-stage approaches generally followed by both courts and economists in securities fraud litigation, say Jesse Jensen and Aasiya Glover at Bernstein Litowitz.