The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez on October 14, 2015, an important case presenting the question of whether a defendant can defeat a class action by offering complete individual relief...more
The First Circuit recently joined the Second, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits in holding that a Rule 68 offer made prior to class certification and rejected by plaintiff does not moot the plaintiff’s claim. The...more
There has been a lot of activity in the federal courts of appeals recently regarding the use of offers of judgment to named plaintiffs in class actions. The Fifth and Seventh Circuits recently held that an unaccepted Rule 68...more
The defendant in a putative class action brought pursuant to the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA), 15 U.S.C. § 1693, et seq., tendered a Rule 68 offer of judgment to the named plaintiff before class certification briefing...more
In a decision issued on August 21, 2015, the First Circuit added its voice to the recent chorus of federal appellate courts holding that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer of judgment, served before a motion for class certification...more
As highlighted in my June 16 blog post, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari, in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, No. 14-857 (SCOTUSblog page), to decide whether an offer of complete relief to a named plaintiff renders a...more
As we covered here, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted certiorari in Campbell-Eward Co. v. Gomez, 768 F.3d 871 (9th Cir. 2014), to decide the question of whether a full-relief offer of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil...more
Just two months before the U.S. Supreme Court hears argument in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, two federal circuit court panels have ruled on jurisdictional issues presented in the case. Both the Seventh Circuit in Chapman v....more
In the beginning, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Genesis Healthcare that an FLSA case is moot when the plaintiff accepts an offer of full relief. As we noted in our previous blog, the decision left open, however, the...more
We have understood for many years that early assessment and action can help resolve claims by current and former employees. The Supreme Court recently provided employers with additional ammunition with which to derail, or...more
Last month, the United States Supreme Court (Supreme Court) provided an unexpected gift to entities facing collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by holding that defendants may moot such a case by making...more
Today the United States Supreme Court delivered an unexpected present to employers facing FLSA collective actions and held that a defendant may moot such a case by making a Rule 68 offer of judgment to the named plaintiff....more
Does a “make whole” offer of judgment to the lead plaintiff in a wage and hour collective action put an end to the case? According to the US Supreme Court, the answer is “yes”- at least on the specific facts of the case...more
In a decision that has broad implications beyond its labor law context, the U.S. Supreme Court held on April 16, 2013, that an employee plaintiff in a collective action whose individual claim was mooted by her employer’s...more
In a major victory for employers, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion today confirming employers' ability to make an "offer of judgment" to named plaintiffs who are pursuing collective actions under the Fair Labor...more
In a 5-4 decision issued on April 16, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and held that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer of full relief to a named plaintiff extinguished a putative...more
On April 16, 2013, the Supreme Court issued a decision that makes it easier for employers to limit the scope of wage and hour "collective actions." In Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk (Apr. 16, 2013), the Court held that...more