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Mealey's Class Actions

  • October 04, 2024

    Consumer Says Synthetic Nicotine E-Cig Maker Deceptively Marketed To Youth

    NEW YORK — An e-cigarette consumer filed a putative nationwide class action against the manufacturer of Puff Bar e-cigarettes in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, arguing that it unfairly markets its flavored, disposable, synthetic nicotine products to young people and deceptively labels the nicotine content of its products.

  • October 04, 2024

    Panel Affirms No Coverage Owed For Class Actions Alleging Employees Were Underpaid

    PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 3 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that an insurance policy’s “wage and hour violation” exclusion barred coverage for two underlying class lawsuits alleging that the insured conducted an unlawful scheme of underpaying some of its employees.

  • October 04, 2024

    High Court Will Review 2nd Circuit ERISA Prohibited Transaction Ruling

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 4 granted a certiorari petition regarding a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling involving what is necessary to state an Employee Retirement Income Security Act prohibited transaction claim for a transaction between a plan fiduciary and a party in interest.

  • October 04, 2024

    U.S. High Court Grants Chiropractic Practice’s TCPA FCC Rule Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 4 granted a chiropractic practice’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking a decision on whether the Federal Communications Commission’s interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) prohibited faxes must be accepted.

  • October 03, 2024

    Retirees: $10M Would Be ‘Landmark Recovery’ In Actuarial Equivalence Case

    CHICAGO — Saying it would be a “landmark recovery,” retirees who filed an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over allegedly outdated mortality tables used to calculate joint and survivor annuity (JSA) benefits in two Citgo Petroleum Corp. pension plans on Oct. 2 asked an Illinois federal court for preliminary approval of a $10 million class settlement plus up to $4.75 million for attorney fees, expenses and service awards.

  • October 03, 2024

    Putative Class Plaintiff Drops Defendant From Nicotine Pouch Youth Marketing Suit

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A consumer bringing a putative class action suit accusing Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) of violating Florida consumer protection statutes by targeting youth and deceptively advertising Zyn nicotine pouches as a “safer and healthier alternative to smoking” on Oct. 2 filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of co-defendant Swedish Match North America LLC after it moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

  • October 03, 2024

    Judge Orders Further Briefing In OnlyFans Unfair Renewals Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Oct. 2 directed putative class plaintiffs accusing an adult entertainment website of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by improperly charging them automatic renewal fees to file an amended complaint modifying their allegations regarding the defendants’ purposeful targeting of California, which the judge will consider before ruling on a motion to dismiss.

  • October 03, 2024

    Judge Strikes Renewed Jury Demand In ERISA Suit Over NYU Retirement Plans

    NEW YORK — Striking a jury demand asserted in a second amended complaint filed in a long-running Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over New York University (NYU) retirement plan fees and funds, a New York federal judge ruled in part that the amendments did not revive the plaintiffs’ right to a jury trial.

  • October 03, 2024

    Vermont Health Provider Pays $540,000 To Settle Data Breach Class Claims

    BURLINGTON, Vt. — A federal judge in Vermont granted final approval of a $540,000 settlement to be paid by an integrated health provider in that state, ending a class suit by a patient over a 2022 data breach that allegedly exposed the personal information of more than 60,000 people.

  • October 02, 2024

    Federal Judge Allows Nondrowsy Label Dispute To Move Forward But Limits Claims

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge ruled that a woman “overslept on her rights” to pursue breach of warranty claims against the maker of a nondrowsy cold medicine but also found that her claims are not preempted by federal law and that she can, for the time being, represent a nationwide class of purchasers (Nancy Calchi v. TopCo Associates, LLC, No. 22-747, N.D. Ill.).

  • October 02, 2024

    Judge: No Jurisdiction For Artist’s Class Copyright Claims Against Online Store

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on Oct. 1 issued an opinion confirming an August “bottom-line” order dismissing a putative class action complaint brought by an artist alleging that an e-commerce company infringed on his copyrighted work and that of many other artists, holding that the New York federal court does not have personal jurisdiction based in part on customers’ locations.

  • October 02, 2024

    2nd Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Securities Suit For Failure To Prove Scienter

    NEW YORK — A federal district court in New York correctly dismissed an investor’s putative class complaint asserting securities law violations against a biotechnology company and its principals for failing to adequately plead scienter against any of the defendants, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the ruling.

  • October 02, 2024

    Judge Won’t Certify Class Allegedly Deceived By ‘Veterinary’ Pet Food

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied motions by self-described “pet parents” for certification of classes accusing three veterinary pet food-makers of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by deceptively enforcing a prescription requirement for their products, which the consumers say deceived them into believing that the products are subject to federal regulation and safety inspections.

  • October 02, 2024

    Brokerages, MLSs Opt Into NAR Commission Settlement, Agree To Pay More Than $30M

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri in an Oct. 1 docket entry granted a preliminary approval of more than $30 million in settlements by brokerages and non-Realtor multiple listing services (MLSs) that are opting into the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) settlement in a real estate commission class lawsuit accusing NAR and other real estate franchises of conspiring to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.

  • October 02, 2024

    Notice Of Settlement Filed In Class Suit Over Payoff Statements’ ‘Release Cost’

    MIAMI — A mortgage servicer and two borrowers on Oct. 1 filed a joint notice in a federal court in Florida stating that they have reached a settlement in a putative class lawsuit in which the servicer is accused of violating the Fair Debt Collection Act (FDCA) and Florida law by including a $22.50 “release cost” on its uniform payoff statements.

  • October 02, 2024

    LensCrafters’ $39M Settlement Of Consumers’ Overpayment Claims Granted Final OK

    NEW YORK — A $39 million settlement between Luxottica Retail North America, doing business as LensCrafters, and consumers who allege that they were given false information about the company’s AccuFit system that caused them to overpay for prescription eyeglasses in violation of California, Florida and New York laws was granted final approval by a federal judge in New York.

  • October 02, 2024

    Investors’ Securities Action Against Tupperware Stayed After Bankruptcy Filing

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida has stayed a putative class action brought against Tupperware Brands Corp. and certain of its executives and directed the clerk to administratively close the file after the company notified the court that it filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 17.

  • October 02, 2024

    2nd Circuit Partly Revives Securities Suit Over After-Acquisition Statements

    NEW YORK — Partly reviving a dismissed securities suit in a nonprecedential summary order, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel disagreed with the trial court on about half of the alleged misstatements that investors challenged on appeal.

  • October 01, 2024

    Summary Judgment Bid Fails In ERISA Class Action Over Mortality Tables

    NEW YORK — Denying a summary judgment motion filed by a life insurer and related defendants in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action challenging the use of allegedly outdated mortality tables in calculating qualified joint and survivor annuity (QJSA) benefits, a New York federal judge said he was reserving expert disputes and other issues for a bench trial.

  • October 01, 2024

    Consumer Accusing V8 Splash Of Misleading Labels Defends Against Dismissal

    CAMDEN, N.J. — A consumer filed a brief in New Jersey federal court opposing Campbell Soup Co.’s motion to dismiss her putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by deceptively marketing its V8 Splash product as healthy, arguing that the product’s deceptive front label renders disclosures on its back label irrelevant.

  • October 01, 2024

    11th Circuit Denies En Banc Hearing In ERISA Row Over Exhaustion Precedent

    ATLANTA — Rejecting a request that drew amicus curiae support from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied initial hearing en banc in the suit where appellants seek the overturn of longstanding circuit precedent concerning exhaustion of administrative remedies in Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuits.

  • October 01, 2024

    FBI Agrees To Pay $22.6M To Settle Some Basic Training Gender Bias Class Claims

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Current and former female employees of the FBI moved Sept. 30 in a federal court in the District of Columbia for attorney fees and to certify for the purposes of a $22.6 million settlement a class of workers who allege that they were subjected to gender bias during basic training.

  • October 01, 2024

    Fact Issues Exist On Whether Coverage Is Owed For Water, Mold Damages, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion for summary judgment filed by insurers that denied coverage for mold and water damages sustained in numerous buildings of an insured’s construction project because questions of fact exist as to whether the policies’ fungus extension and delay in opening extension afford coverage and whether the policies’ exclusion for cost of making good (COMG) excluded coverage for any damage caused by faulty workmanship.

  • October 01, 2024

    More Than $17.3M In Attorney Fees Awarded After Royalty Class Settlement

    DENVER — A federal judge in Oklahoma granted a renewed motion for $17,333,333 in attorney fees in an oil and gas royalty payments class lawsuit that has gone on for more than a dozen years and that was settled for $52 million, finding that the requested fees were “reasonable” and opining that distribution of the “fees among class counsel is a matter within their sole discretion.”

  • October 01, 2024

    DMCA AI Ruling Heads To 9th Circuit After Grant Of Immediate Appeal

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Plaintiffs with copyright claims against GitHub Inc. and others stemming from the training of artificial intelligences may file an interlocutory appeal of a ruling requiring identicality under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and dismissing the claims, a federal judge in California said.