Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Class Action
-
September 26, 2024
Cannabis REIT Beats Investor Class Action For Good
A New Jersey federal judge has allowed a cannabis-focused real estate investment trust and certain executives to permanently escape a proposed class action brought by the company's shareholders, finding the lawsuit failed to allege the defendants did not conduct proper due diligence on a major tenant accused of engaging in fraud.
-
September 26, 2024
Cognizant's Level Of Indian H-1B Workers 'Unusual,' Jury Told
A Howard University professor testifying as an expert for a class of former Congizant Technologies employees alleging the company has a bias in favor of Indian workers told a California federal jury Thursday the fact that 99% of Cognizant's H-1B visa workers are from India is "unusual" and demonstrates a "cultural preference."
-
September 26, 2024
Attys Worry OpenAI IP Row Will Drag On Amid AI Policy Push
A BigLaw attorney and consumer advocates found common ground during the seventh annual Berkeley Law AI Institute on Thursday expressing concerns that courts won't timely adjudicate copyright claims against OpenAI and others, while an FTC attorney noted the commission is already enforcing the Federal Trade Act against companies for over-hyping their AI.
-
September 26, 2024
2nd Circ. Questions Crypto Co.'s 'Control' In Scam Token Suit
Investors attempting to revive their suit around decentralized crypto exchange Uniswap Labs told a Second Circuit panel on Thursday that their claims were prematurely dismissed, while a judge pressed them to show how any of the defendants had control of the alleged "rampant fraud" on the platform.
-
September 26, 2024
General Mills Seeks To Ax Suit Claiming Cocoa Puffs Has Lead
General Mills urged a California federal court to toss a proposed consumer class action claiming its Cocoa Puffs cereal contains undisclosed and high levels of lead, saying the suit is based on a "flawed and implausible theory" that doesn't show lead is present in the cereal at unsafe levels.
-
September 26, 2024
Fintech Firm Can't Dodge Investor Suit Over Lending Program
A New York federal judge has trimmed some allegations in a proposed class action lawsuit against payment processing company StoneCo Ltd. while allowing shareholders to move forward with claims that the company underplayed its role in the failure of a merchant lending program it once offered in Brazil.
-
September 26, 2024
Oil Co. Can Escape Most Claims In Shell Fraud Suit
A federal judge trimmed most of the claims from a lawsuit brought by a group of Western Pennsylvania landowners who say a Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary fraudulently sold off $9.5 billion of its assets to avoid the possibility of being subject to a judgment in a separate lawsuit.
-
September 26, 2024
Healthcare REIT Defeats Investor Suit For Good
An Alabama federal judge on Thursday permanently tossed an investor suit against a healthcare-focused real estate investment trust, Medical Properties Trust Inc., that alleged the trust hid the poor performance of four acute care hospitals it owns in Pennsylvania, saying the plaintiff's asserted theory in the suit "is somewhat Jekyll and Hyde."
-
September 26, 2024
Snowflake, AT&T Data Breach Suit Must Be Joined, JPML Told
An attorney for plaintiffs suing cloud provider Snowflake Inc., which counts AT&T Inc. among its clients and suffered a series of high-profile hacks, urged the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation Thursday to consolidate all related litigation, saying the disputes revolve around common issues.
-
September 26, 2024
Judge Certifies COVID-19 Refund Action Against Cedar Fair
An Ohio federal judge certified two classes of 2020 season pass holders with amusement park company Cedar Fair LP — which recently merged with Six Flags Entertainment Corp. — and also added some subclasses for the pass holders' claims that they are entitled to refunds after the amusement parks they bought passes for were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
September 26, 2024
Chancery Tosses Carvana Suit Alleging Faulty Sales
Delaware's chancellor has dismissed a stockholder derivative case against online used-car dealer Carvana Inc. that sought damages for alleged insider trading and legal complaince monitoring failures, a case that defense attorneys had branded "repackaged" from past or pending federal securities actions.
-
September 26, 2024
4th Circ. Judge Thrashes Vets' Argument In Citibank Fee Suit
A Fourth Circuit judge on Thursday ripped military members' argument that they must be allowed under a military-members-lending law to proceed in federal court with a proposed class action alleging Citibank charged illegal fees, with the judge stressing that the statute is silent on forbidding arbitration.
-
September 26, 2024
Ford Says $1.7B Ga. Verdict No Excuse For Delayed Claims
Lawyers for Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it strains credulity that Super Duty truck drivers didn't learn about their allegedly weak roofs until a billion-dollar jury verdict in Georgia, arguing in Michigan that decades of other suits and government documents could have clued in the plaintiffs sooner.
-
September 26, 2024
Conn. PFAS Water Pollution Suit Returned To State Court
A Connecticut federal judge has sent back to state court a proposed class action accusing the Connecticut Water Co. of knowingly selling water contaminated with dangerous levels of PFAS and failing to take steps to remove the pollutants, saying the water supply system's arguments are "fatally flawed."
-
September 26, 2024
New UFC Settlement Separates Cases, Ups Payout To $375M
The UFC and its fighters have reached a revised settlement that upsizes the payout to $375 million, resolving a portion of their long dispute over wages and leaving claims from a similar class action unresolved, the organization said Thursday.
-
September 26, 2024
Colo. Justices Pause Discovery In Hospital Lien Suit
The Colorado Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed discovery in a class action against hospital company Centura Health, as it decides whether to take up the plaintiff's challenge to a Denver judge's second attempt at deciding what documents the plaintiff must produce.
-
September 26, 2024
En Banc 9th Circ. Doubts Dismissal Of Shopify Privacy Suit
Ninth Circuit judges sitting en banc Thursday appeared dubious of an earlier panel's conclusion that a California federal court lacked personal jurisdiction over Golden State consumers' privacy claims against Shopify Inc., questioning how internet companies could ever face tort claims if this were the law.
-
September 26, 2024
Pa. Justices Say COVID Closures Aren't Covered Losses
Pennsylvania's Supreme Court shut the door Thursday on COVID-19 pandemic loss insurance coverage for businesses closed by government mandate, ruling that requisite physical loss or damage required tangible alteration to property, reversing a lower court decision that stated loss of use was sufficient.
-
September 26, 2024
NY Lawmakers Beat ADA Suit Over Contentious Mask Ban
A New York federal judge threw out a challenge to Nassau County's ban on face masks worn by people trying to hide their identities in public, noting in an order Wednesday the plaintiffs lack standing since the ban doesn't apply to coverings worn to protect the wearer's health and safety.
-
September 26, 2024
Nvidia Seeks 'Unworkable' Pleading Standard, Justices Told
Nvidia Corp. shareholders asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject the company's "unworkable" reading of the pleading standards under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, arguing that they've presented plenty of evidence to move forward with claims that the company hid its $1 billion exposure to the volatile cryptocurrency market.
-
September 26, 2024
Arthur J. Gallagher To Pay $21M To End Data Breach Suits
Insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has agreed to pay $21 million to resolve several lawsuits consolidated in Illinois alleging that it failed to protect more than 3 million customers from a data breach that compromised their personally identifiable information, with an Illinois federal judge giving her initial blessing to the deal Thursday.
-
September 26, 2024
4th Circ. Hints Rocket Mortgage Class Cert. Is On Shaky Ground
The Fourth Circuit on Thursday seemed skeptical that all potential class members who accused Rocket Mortgage of inflating their home values could prove they were injured under the U.S. Supreme Court's heightened pleading standard in TransUnion, putting the lower court's certification order on rocky footing.
-
September 26, 2024
Apple Protests Atty Fee Bid In $35M Deal With Scam Victims
Apple Inc. urged a California federal court to limit the fee awarded to plaintiffs' attorneys from a $35 million settlement over allegations it did not stop scammers from tricking victims into using iTunes gift cards for payments, saying the 33% fee sought is too high for the "fair but unexceptional recovery."
-
September 26, 2024
Atty Sheehan Owes $144K Fees For 'Frivolous' Big Lots Suit
Prolific New York-based consumer advocate attorney Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC must cover the approximately $144,000 tab for attorney fees incurred amid the "frivolous" coffee labeling suit he brought against national retailer Big Lots Inc., a Florida federal judge has ordered.
-
September 26, 2024
Quest Diagnostics Escapes 401(k) Mismanagement Suit
A New Jersey federal judge tossed a proposed class action alleging Quest Diagnostics Inc. mismanaged its $5 billion retirement plan by failing to chop under performing investment funds from its lineup, pointing to proof that the company acted to rein in questionable funds.
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
PAGA Reforms Encourage Proactive Employer Compliance
Recently enacted reforms to California's Private Attorneys General Act should make litigation under the law less burdensome for employers, presenting a valuable opportunity to streamline compliance and reduce litigation risks by proactively addressing many of the issues that have historically attracted PAGA claims, say attorneys at Mintz.
-
A Simple Proposal For Improving E-Discovery In MDLs
Given the importance of e-discovery in multidistrict litigation, courts, parties and counsel shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel in each newly consolidated case — and a simple process for sharing e-discovery lessons and knowledge across MDLs could benefit everyone involved, particularly clients, say Benjamin Barnett and Shauna Itri at Seeger Weiss.
-
Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
-
What FTX Case Taught Us About Digital Asset Recoverability
FTX's Chapter 11 plan has drawn lots of attention, but the focus should be on the anticipated outcome for investors, which counters several myths about digital currencies, innovation and recoverability, says Kyla Curley at StoneTurn.
-
Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
-
A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
-
Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
-
50 Years Later, ERISA Remains A Work In Progress
A look at the 50 years since the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s passage shows that while the law safeguards benefits through vesting rules, fiduciary responsibilities and anti-discrimination provisions, the act falls short in three key areas, says Carol Buckmann at Cohen & Buckmann.
-
FLSA Conditional Certification Is Alive And Well In 4th Circ.
A North Carolina federal court's recent decision in Johnson v. PHP emphasized continued preference by courts in the Fourth Circuit for a two-step conditional certification process for Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, rejecting views from other circuits and affording plaintiffs a less burdensome path, say Joshua Adams and Damón Gray at Jackson Lewis.