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

Mealey's Class Actions

July 24, 2024
Federal Judge Dismisses Deceptive Trade Practices Claim In Data Breach Class Suit

NEW YORK — Union members who in a putative class complaint accuse their union of not keeping their personal information secure failed to sufficiently allege a claim under New York’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) as they did not allege that they “ever saw or relied upon the website’s privacy policy” and their “counsel conceded during oral argument that plaintiffs had not viewed it,” a federal judge in New York ruled, granting in part a motion to dismiss filed by UNITE HERE.
July 23, 2024
Judge Certifies Class In Securities Case Brought Against Electric Vehicle Maker

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted a motion for class certification filed by investors who say an electric car manufacturer and certain of its executives hid from investors that the company knew that it would be selling its vehicles at a significant loss ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), finding that the investors had satisfied all four requirements for class certification.
July 23, 2024
3M: Former Firefighter’s PFAS Case Belongs In MDL For Aqueous Film Forming Foam

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 3M Co. has filed a brief with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) contending that it should transfer to the multidistrict litigation in South Carolina federal court the case brought by a former firefighter who contends that he was injured by exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) because the case “substantially overlaps with myriad similar cases already pending in the MDL.”
July 23, 2024
Splenda Maker Must Face Class Suit For Improper Diabetes Claims, Judge Says

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge largely denied an artificial sweetener company’s motion to dismiss a putative class action against it brought by plaintiffs who claim that it violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misleadingly marketing its products containing sucralose as beneficial for diabetics.
July 23, 2024
High Court Told ERISA Prohibited-Transaction Differences Don’t Need Review

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a July 22 respondent brief filed at the request of the U.S. Supreme Court, Cornell University and related entities urge denial of a certiorari petition regarding an Employee Retirement Income Security Act ruling, arguing in part that “no court of appeals that has considered a prohibited-transaction claim challenging a contract for routine plan services has allowed the claim to proceed.”
July 23, 2024
Florida Federal Judge Remands Data Breach Class Action For No Diversity

TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida has remanded a class action against a Tampa hospital filed in the wake of a data breach, citing the absence of “minimal diversity” and calling the hospital’s argument for removal under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) “wrong three times over.”
July 23, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek Preliminary Approval Of $115M Class Settlement With Oracle

SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs have moved in California federal court seeking preliminary approval of a $115 million class settlement in a dispute with Oracle America Inc. over allegations that the company’s business practices “amount to a deliberate and purposeful surveillance of the general population via their digital and online existence.”
July 23, 2024
Getty Images Says Stability Stole For AI At ‘Staggering Scale’

WILMINGTON, Del. — In an amended complaint in a Delaware federal court, one of the world’s largest digital content distributors accuses artificial intelligence company Stability AI Ltd. of “brazen infringement” at a “staggering scale” through the copying of more than 12 million photographs from the company’s collection.
July 23, 2024
Residents To Appeal Dismissal Of Jackson, Miss., Drinking Water Crisis Lawsuit

JACKSON, Miss. — Residents of Jackson filed a notice in Mississippi federal court, indicating that they will be appealing a judge’s ruling that dismissed their lawsuit against the city in their drinking water contamination case.
July 23, 2024
$19M Class Settlement Gets Final OK In ERISA Row Over Proprietary Funds

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has granted final approval to a $19 million class settlement resolving claims over the use of proprietary investments in two New York Life Insurance Co. 401(k) plans and the use of a stable value fund as the default investment, also approving a 33% attorney fee and all awards as requested.
July 23, 2024
2nd Circuit Sets Argument In Mortgage-Backed Securities Appeal Over ERISA Claims

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has set oral argument for Sept. 5 in a dispute involving whether a pension fund’s investment in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) made the underlying residential mortgages Employee Retirement Income Security Act plan assets and exposed the mortgage servicers to ERISA fiduciary liability.
July 22, 2024
In Consolidated Ruling, Panel Says Water Providers Not Liable For Contamination

TRENTON, N.J. — In a consolidated appeal of two class actions, a panel in New Jersey on July 19 ruled that there is no basis upon which municipal water providers may be held liable under a breach-of-contract theory for distributing water that contains a high level of contaminants.
July 22, 2024
Claims Trimmed From Remanded Crypto Wallet Data Breach Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A cryptocurrency wallet firm and two of its business partners saw their motions to dismiss a suit over a 2020 data breach partly granted, as a California federal judge found some claims to be preempted by a forum selection clause and others to be insufficiently pleaded.
July 19, 2024
9th Circuit Sends ‘Plant-Based’ Baby Wipes Class Suit Back To District Court

PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed in part and affirmed in part the dismissal of a consumer’s putative class claims against a baby wipes company for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by labeling its products “plant-based,” finding that some of the challenged products were labeled in a way that was likely to mislead consumers.
July 18, 2024
Consolidated Class Alleges Negligence, Consumer Fraud Over Mr. Cooper Data Breach

DALLAS — More than six months after a Texas federal judge consolidated more than a dozen putative class actions against a mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper Group Inc. over a 2023 data breach, the plaintiffs filed a consolidated complaint in which they bring claims for breach of contract, negligence and violation of a bevy of state consumer statutes against the company.
July 18, 2024
Judge Grants Approval To $50M Settlement To End Antitrust Claims Involving EpiPen

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Kansas federal judge has signed off on final approval to a settlement agreement in which Pfizer Inc. agreed to pay $50 million to settle claims that it conspired with others in an attempt to delay entry of generic competitors for the EpiPen epinephrine autoinjector (EAI) into the market.
July 18, 2024
Meta Opposes Pixel Privacy Plaintiffs’ Bid To Reopen Discovery Briefing

SAN FRANCISCO — Disputing that it has reached an impasse with the plaintiffs who sued it for privacy violations related to the Pixel tracking tool, Meta Platforms Inc. asked a California federal court to reject their “manufactured urgency” in discovery proceedings and maintain a magistrate-ordered briefing moratorium while the parties continue discovery negotiations.
July 17, 2024
Judge Won’t Freeze Assets Of Electronics Company Accused Of Faking Online Reviews

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on July 16 denied a consumer’s motion for a preliminary injunction freezing more than $5 million of a Chinese manufacturer-owned company’s assets pending the outcome of his lawsuit accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes for allegedly faking reviews on Amazon.com to sell shoddy electronics, finding insufficient evidence of damages.
July 17, 2024
Judge: Investors Didn’t Show Pharmaceutical Company’s Projections Are False

NEWARK, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey dismissed without prejudice a putative class complaint brought by investors who said a biopharmaceutical company and certain of its executives misled investors about the amount of capital available to the company to test its stem cell treatment for a type of blood cancer, finding that the investors failed to allege a material misrepresentation about the funding.
July 17, 2024
$2.5 Million Walmart COVID-19 Screening Settlement Approved

PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona granted final approval of a $2.5 million settlement to be paid by Walmart Inc. and Wal-Mart Associates Inc. (together, Walmart) to end a class complaint seeking compensation under Arizona law for time spent undergoing mandatory COVID-19 screening before each shift.
July 17, 2024
Judge Dismisses BetterHelp Customers’ Data Privacy Claims With Leave To Amend

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part an online therapy company’s motion to dismiss consolidated class action claims that it violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and several other statutes by failing to adequately protect customers’ personal data, finding certain claims insufficiently pleaded but granting the plaintiffs leave to amend.
July 17, 2024
Rehearing Granted In GoDaddy TCPA Suit, Class Settlement Opinion Clarified

ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 16 granted a petition for panel rehearing filed after a May opinion vacated a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class settlement with GoDaddy.com LLC and issued an opinion substituting its previous opinion with one that was “the same as our previous except that we clarify that the opinion of this Court is delivered solely in Section III.C.iii, in which” the entire panel joined; the class’ rehearing petition sought clarification for “the basis of” the May decision, arguing that the opinion titled “Opinion of the Court” was not actually that.
July 16, 2024
La. High Court: $22M For Attorneys Must Be Reconsidered After Class Damages Cut

NEW ORLEANS — A more than $22 million attorney fee award upheld by a Louisiana trial court and appellate panel due to res judicata after the damages award for a class of landowners suing over water levels was reduced from more than $42 million to $4.6 million must be reconsidered, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled, remanding to the trial court “for a hearing to determine a reasonable attorney fee.”
July 16, 2024
Investors Seek Approval Of $434M Settlement With Under Armour In Securities Case

BALTIMORE — Plaintiff investors in a class action alleging that Under Armour Inc. and its former CEO violated federal securities laws by making false claims about demand for the company’s products on July 15 sought preliminary approval from a federal court in Maryland of a $430 million settlement with the company.
July 16, 2024
Washington Supreme Court: Equitable Tolling Applies To Nurse Class’s Wage Claims

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A class lawsuit on behalf of nurses seeking unpaid wages after a complaint by their union attempting to recoup the pay was dismissed for lack of associational standing may proceed even though the statute of limitations has passed as equitable tolling applies, a divided Washington Supreme Court ruled.