Class Action

April 29, 2025
Firm In Salmon Antitrust Case Owes Referral Fee, Suit Says

A Boston law firm says another firm that served as co-lead counsel in a salmon purchaser antitrust case is refusing to honor a referral fee agreement for 15% of the attorney costs in the Florida litigation, according to a federal complaint filed Monday in Massachusetts.
April 29, 2025
Retirees Fight Lockheed's Quick Appeal Push In Annuity Suit

Lockheed Martin retirees urged a Maryland federal judge not to allow the company to immediately challenge a ruling that kept alive their suit claiming Lockheed illegally pushed workers' pensions into risky annuities, arguing an appeal would be premature even though a similar case was recently tossed out.
April 29, 2025
Judge Tosses Chalmers' NIL Suit, Hands NCAA Major Victory

In a significant win for the NCAA against a wave of college athletes suing for past name, image and likeness compensation as a multibillion-dollar settlement awaits approval, a New York federal judge dismissed a proposed class action by 16 former men's basketball players accusing the NCAA of exploiting them long after their careers ended.
April 28, 2025
Gitmo Atty Access Still Lacking, Immigrant Detainees Allege

The Trump administration is still making it difficult for immigrants detained at Guantanamo Bay to access attorneys, including by denying in-person attorney visits and missing scheduled attorney-client phone calls, two detainees alleged in an amended suit filed Friday in D.C. federal court.
April 28, 2025
Nivea Maker Hit With False Ad Greenwashing Suit

The Nivea brand of products such as lotions, body creams, deodorants and cleansing wipes are falsely advertised as made predominantly of ingredients derived from natural products, like aloe or avocado oil, even though nearly all the ingredients are synthetic, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.
April 28, 2025
3rd Circ. Won't Rethink Teamsters Fund's Win In $39M Row

The Third Circuit won't give a group of dairy businesses a second chance to prevent a Teamsters union pension fund from suing them and their affiliates to enforce a $39 million settlement, the court announced Monday.
April 28, 2025
Avis Hit With Investor Suit Over $2.3B Fleet Impairment

Car rental company Avis Budget Group has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it harmed investors when it concealed a strategy shift late last year that accelerated fleet rotation and led to a $2.3 billion impairment charge.
April 28, 2025
Chancery OKs Shortcut For Derivative Fox Suit

A Delaware vice chancellor late Monday approved an unprecedented Fox Corp. call for a targeted summary judgment proceeding focused on a single Fox director's independence after a different jurist rejected, in November, dismissal of the suit, which seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in defamation damages in connection with broadcasts of bogus 2020 election claims.
April 28, 2025
Wells Fargo Investors Win Class Cert. In 'Sham' Hiring Case

A California federal judge has certified a class of thousands of Wells Fargo & Co. investors in litigation over the bank's alleged practice of conducting "sham" job interviews to meet diversity targets, a strategy investors say led to stock prices dropping when the truth came to light, according to an order issued Friday.
April 28, 2025
Imerys Halts Ch. 11 Trial Over Foreign Claimant Issues

Bankrupt talc suppliers Imerys Talc America and Cyprus Mines Corp. and parties supporting their Chapter 11 plan to deal with asbestos injury claims unexpectedly announced Monday they wanted to halt the plan confirmation proceedings, following more than four days of evidence, citing issues surrounding the treatment of foreign claims against the debtors.
April 28, 2025
Veolia Settles Flint Water Crisis Claims For $53M

A Michigan federal judge entered final judgment Monday in litigation brought by the state of Michigan and about 26,000 individuals against Veolia North America alleging it prolonged the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, after a $53 million settlement was approved earlier this month.
April 28, 2025
Ga. Speaker Claims Immunity In Lawsuit Over Lawmaker Ban

Georgia Speaker of the House Jon Burns has asked a federal judge to free him from a lawsuit lodged by the constituents of a lawmaker who was barred from the chamber in January after calling Burns' predecessor "one of the most corrupt Georgia leaders we'll ever see in our lifetimes."
April 28, 2025
UScellular, Investors Ink $7.7M Deal In Postpaid Biz Suit

UScellular and the investors who sued the company over its representations about the health of its postpaid mobile phone outfit have agreed to settle their differences for $7.7 million and are asking an Illinois federal judge to sign off on the deal.
April 28, 2025
Ziploc 'Microwave Safe' Bags Shed Microplastics, Buyer Says

S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. falsely markets Ziploc bags and containers as "microwave safe" and suitable for use in freezers despite knowing they are made from materials that shed microplastics into food when the products are used as directed, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.
April 28, 2025
Justices Open To New Combat Compensation Filing Window

A group of U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed open to letting late-filing veterans get retroactive combat-related special compensation, with some justices saying that the statute might be explicit enough to not fall under the Barring Act's statute of limitations.
April 28, 2025
TD Bank's $3 Paper Statement Fee Breaks NY Law, Suit Says

TD Bank faces a proposed customer class action alleging it violated New York state law with its practice of charging its customers $3 to mail them paper copies of their monthly billing statements.
April 28, 2025
Boeing Rips Investors' Class Cert. Bid In 737 Max Fraud Suit

Boeing has told an Illinois federal judge that pension funds and private investors cannot certify a sweeping class action seeking a "jaw-dropping" $15 billion in damages by alleging Boeing repeatedly misrepresented the overall safety and certification process for the 737 Max 8 jets after two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.
April 28, 2025
Napco Faces Investor Suit Over Sales Downturn

Security device maker Napco Security Technologies Inc. faces a proposed investor class action alleging that the company overpromised on a long-term earnings margin goal, hurting investors when trading prices fell as its sales and progress toward that target stalled in February.
April 28, 2025
Wells Fargo Tells Judge Cash Sweep 'Conflict' Was Disclosed

Wells Fargo said it should be allowed to escape customers' proposed class action alleging the bank's cash sweep investment program disproportionately benefits the bank, arguing it disclosed in its signed agreements with customers the bank's intentions to secure financial gains for itself through the program.
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.

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.