Mealey's Class Actions : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Class Actions

May 29, 2024
Bank Of America Settlement Valued At $29M Given Final OK In ACH Transfer Fee Case

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina granted final approval of a settlement by Bank of America N.A. (BOA) providing an $8 million common fund and practice changes that the parties value at $21 million, ending a class complaint by consumers who accused BOA of misleading them about the National Automated Clearinghouse (NACHA) system and the necessity of Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) transfer fees.
May 28, 2024
$3.5M Settlement In ERISA Imprudence Suit Over TDFs, Another Fund Gets Initial OK

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge on May 24 granted preliminary approval of a $3.5 million class settlement to resolve retirement plan participants’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenging the use of target-date funds (TDFs) and another investment option.
May 28, 2024
10th Circuit: No Jurisdiction Over New Mexico COVID-19 Vaccine Order Class Case

DENVER — A putative class complaint by a nurse and an individual looking to have her children show animals at a state fair that challenged a New Mexico public health order (PHO) requiring certain individuals to be vaccinated against coronavirus should have been dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) as there is no jurisdiction over their claims, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, finding that one of the individual’s claims was moot and the other lacked standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution.
May 28, 2024
Judge Certifies Class In ESG Row Focused On Proxy Voting, Shareholder Activism

FORT WORTH, Texas — Rejecting numerous arguments advanced by American Airlines Inc. and a related defendant in a suit over environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and the purported proxy voting activism of investment management firms, a Texas federal judge granted certification of a narrowed class that reflects the decision to drop one theory of liability.
May 28, 2024
Judge Faults Lengthy ChatGPT Complaint As Akin To Town Hall Fodder

SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs’ lengthy complaint against Microsoft Corp. and various OpenAI entities over the training of artificial intelligence raises policy concerns more appropriate in a town hall than a courtroom, a federal judge in California said May 24 in granting motions to dismiss a class complaint that includes allegations under the California unfair competition law (UCL) and other state laws.
May 24, 2024
$3.25M Settlement Gets Final OK In ERISA Imprudence Case Over Retirement Plans

BALTIMORE — Resolving an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over use of the GoalMaker asset allocation service and other aspects of a Maryland hospital system’s retirement plans, a Maryland federal judge on May 23 granted final approval to a $3.25 million class settlement and awarded a third of that as attorney fees.
May 24, 2024
$30M Settlement Between Jan-Pro, Franchisees Granted Final Approval

SAN FRANCISCO — A $30 million wage-and-hour settlement between Jan-Pro Franchising International Inc. and California cleaning franchisees in a case in which the franchisees alleged that they were misclassified was granted final approval on May 23 by a federal judge in California, who also partially granted and partially denied a motion for attorney fees and service awards.
May 24, 2024
LTC Insurer Gets Extension To Answer Class Complaint Alleging Unfair Rate Hikes

CHICAGO — In a docket entry, an Illinois federal judge granted a long-term care (LTC) insurer an extension to answer an amended complaint in a putative class action alleging that the insurer sought premium increases in different states and for different amounts without considering policy language prohibiting nonuniform rate increases.
May 24, 2024
Acella Pharmaceutical Agrees To $41M Settlement For Faulty Thyroid Hormone Drugs

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A Georgia federal judge granted final approval to a $41 million settlement to end claims that a pharmaceutical company made and sold thyroid hormone pills that were subpotent and awarded $5 million in attorney fees.
May 23, 2024
Judge: Consolidation Needed To Address Settlement In Related Mortgage Class Suits

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In an order filed in the wake of a status hearing on a joint motion for preliminary approval of a $185 million settlement to resolve two related suits accusing Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and Wells Fargo and Co. (together, Wells Fargo) of violating state and federal law by engaging in a scheme to place borrowers into a forbearance program during the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal judge in Ohio on May 22 notified the parties that unless they filed a brief in opposition within seven days, the court “will sua sponte consolidate these cases into a single case for settlement purposes only, appoint both counsel as interim class counsel for settlement purposes only, and consider the pending motion for preliminary approval.”
May 23, 2024
High Court: Courts Decide Which Competing Contracts, Arbitration Clauses Govern

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a situation where parties have agreed to competing contracts or arbitration clauses regarding how to resolve claims in a dispute, it is a court’s job to decide which contract governs, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled May 23 in a suit between a cryptocurrency exchange and a group of its users.
May 23, 2024
$5.5M Amazon COVID-19 Screenings Pay Settlement Granted Preliminary Approval

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California on May 22 granted preliminary approval of a $5.5 million settlement after supplemental briefing and a revised class notice was filed in two consolidated cases by California workers who accuse Amazon.com Services LLC of failing to pay them for time spent undergoing COVID-19 symptom screenings before their shifts.
May 23, 2024
Cancer Sufferers Say J&J, LTL Divisive Merger, Transfers Were Fraudulent

TRENTON, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson and its various subsidiaries hoped to avoid liability or delay a day of reckoning through a divisive merger under Texas law and a series of fraudulent transfers of assets and liabilities, women who allegedly contracted ovarian cancer or mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos in the company’s talc claim in a May 22 putative class action.
May 23, 2024
6 Golden Corral Data Breach Suits Consolidated In North Carolina Federal Court

RALEIGH, N.C. — Citing “judicial economy” and avoiding “the risk of inconsistent rulings,” a North Carolina federal judge granted a motion to consolidate six putative negligence class actions over a 2023 data breach experienced by Golden Corral Corp., which exposed the personally identifiable information (PII) of the buffet restaurant chain’s employees.
May 22, 2024
Judge Preliminarily Approves $600M Settlement In Ohio Train Derailment Litigation

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio on May 21 granted preliminary approval to a $600 million settlement to resolve the class action against Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. (Norfolk Southern, collectively) pertaining to alleged injuries from the release of toxic chemicals at the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, ruling that the proposed agreement is “fair, reasonable, and adequate, entered into in good faith, and free from collusion.” A third-party lawsuit among Norfolk Southern and railcar companies continues.
May 22, 2024
Flint Bellwether Plaintiffs Insist Expert Is Qualified, Evidence Rule Satisfied

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Bellwether III plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation filed a response brief in Michigan federal court on May 21 arguing that a pediatrician they intend to call as an expert witness is qualified to testify and that her opinions satisfy the requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
May 22, 2024
Federal Judge: WARN Act Bakery Worker Class Owed Nearly $3M In Damages

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A federal judge in Vermont partially granted a dissolution receiver’s summary judgment motion in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (WARN Act) lawsuit brought by a class of workers after three bakeries ceased operations and determined that the class is owed damages of $2,759,502.02; however, the judge determined that a bench trial must be held to determine whether the receiver is entitled to a reduction of liability based on good faith.
May 22, 2024
Beyond Meat, Consumer Class Say Settlement Reached In Protein Content Case

CHICAGO — A nationwide class settlement has been reached in a consolidated case by consumers accusing Beyond Meat Inc. of labeling its plant-based meat substitutes with inflated protein content and overstating the quality of the protein, the consumers and defendant announced in a joint notice of settlement filed in a federal court in Illinois.
May 22, 2024
Judge Gives Final OK To $1.5 Million Settlement Of College Data Breach Suit

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A Michigan federal judge granted final approval of the settlement of a consolidated negligence class action over a data breach experienced by a college in 2022, deeming the $1.5 million agreement to be “fair, reasonable, and adequate.”
May 22, 2024
Retirees Lose 2nd Circuit ERISA Bid For Retroactive Early Pension Benefits

NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued a summary order upholding two decisions against retirees who sought retroactive early pension benefits in a putative class action, including a decision under which submission of an election form resulted in only forward-looking benefits.
May 21, 2024
Objectors Appeal Final Approval Of Google Location History Settlement

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Three class members who had previously objected to the cy pres nature of a $62 million settlement of a consolidated class action over the purported collection of users’ location data by Google Inc., as well as an accompanying attorney fees award, on May 20 filed notice that they are appealing the final approval of the settlement and the corresponding judgment of a California federal court to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 21, 2024
3rd Circuit Won’t Review Class Certification In Suit Related To FCA Violations

PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition seeking interlocutory review of a district court’s order granting class certification in a suit alleging that Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. and its executives violated the Securities Exchange Act by artificially raising the price of its stock and concealing information about the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, the subject of a False Claims Act (FCA) suit alleging that Teva engaged in a kickback scheme that increased the price of the drug, finding that “interlocutory review is not appropriate” at the class certification stage as to a merits review of the Securities Exchange Act.
May 21, 2024
Mineral Rights Holders Seek Certification Of Class In Fracking Royalty Dispute

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mineral rights holders have moved in Ohio federal court seeking class certification in their lawsuit alleging that drilling companies breached the royalty agreement among the parties, arguing that “this case arises from the systematic breach of a form contract, making it the paradigmatically appropriate case for class certification.”
May 21, 2024
ERISA Residual Annuities Class Action Is Headed Back To 2nd Circuit

NEW YORK — After a New York federal judge entered final judgment for the class on remand in a long-running Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over residual annuities, Colgate-Palmolive Co. and related defendants filed a notice of appeal.
May 21, 2024
Judge Preliminarily OKs $2.4 Million Settlement Of Suit Over Lender’s Data Breach

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Less than three months after consolidating six lawsuits over a financial services firm’s November data breach, a Connecticut federal judge granted preliminary approval to a settlement that establishes a $2.45 million fund to settle negligence and contractual claims against the lender.