NC Process for Settlement of a Putative Class Action Dispute: Terri Moose vs. Allegacy Federal Credit Union - Sometimes, the short-cut turns out to be the long way around. A North Carolina Business Court opinion by Judge...more
Recently, I was at a meeting, and the person across the table from me asked me a very thoughtful question: “Do you believe in settlement or is your philosophy to litigate, litigate, litigate?” Well, it’s not like...more
You have gone back and forth with an adversary via email several times and keep getting closer to a monetary settlement. Finally, the other side makes an offer that is over your bottom line, and you want to put the matter to...more
Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit reversed approval of a class action settlement, finding several indications that the proposed settlement was the result of collusion between the parties and did not adequately serve the...more
A proposed class action settlement pending in the District Court of Colorado involving Grubhub, Inc. has been called into question by would-be intervenors from a similar action against Grubhub pending in the Northern District...more
On February 1, 2021, in an unpublished opinion resolving a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) attorney’s fees dispute, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Batista v. South Florida Womans Health Associates, Inc., struck...more
Most divorce and family cases settle before trial. To get to a settlement, parties should almost always send a settlement offer. It also makes sense in most instances to settle once the settlement terms are within the margin...more
Certain “bad actors” who settle with the SEC may be subject to automatic disqualifications or collateral consequences under federal securities laws and regulations. The Commission, however, may grant a settling party’s...more
On September 4, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the “Commission”) announced a settlement with YouTube and its parent Google that resolves allegations that the companies violated the Children’s Online Privacy...more
The Situation: Under the Class Action Fairness Act, the Department of Justice may object to federal class action settlements it believes are unfair or inequitable to unnamed class members. The Result: In the past year,...more
The Situation: Recently amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e)(2) requires courts to analyze several factors in evaluating whether to approve class settlements. The Result: Class action settlements that would...more
A recent case from a New York district court serves as a reminder that a single word in a debt collection letter may cause a wave of implications if enough further information is not supplied. In Leonard v. Capital...more
The United States Supreme Court recently approved and adopted amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 concerning class action practice as proposed by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. The amended rule went into...more
Here at FCRAland, we frequently discuss cases applying the Supreme Court’s 2016 case Spokeo v. Robbins. That case specified that, for a plaintiff to have standing under FCRA, the plaintiff would need to allege an injury that...more
A bill recently proposed in Wisconsin could seriously change litigation strategy and settlement considerations for many employment claims filed with state agencies. Assembly Bill 64 would amend the Wisconsin Fair Employment...more
Accept an unpalatable offer, or reject it and risk getting much less (or even nothing)? This is the choice stakeholders in chapter 11 bankruptcies increasingly face as a result of the proliferation of “deathtrap” provisions...more
FCC: U.S. Government Is Not a Person Under TCPA - In response to petitions filed by three government contractors seeking clarification that the federal government and its agents were exempt from liability under the...more
Over recent years the United States Supreme Court has waded deep into the waters of class certification, significantly altering the playing field for class action claims. As the Supreme Court continues its 2015 session, it...more
It’s rapidly becoming conventional wisdom that Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez (argued yesterday) is going to be a win for the plaintiffs. Respected academics like Robert Klonoff have stated it, and respected reporters like...more
Mediation is the most widely used ADR approach today and has been for the past generation. In the course of becoming widespread it has also become predictable. It has become predictable that last month one party told me a...more
Purscell v. Tico Ins. Co., No. 13-2362, 2015 WL 3855253 (8th Cir. June 22, 2015). Court holds it was not bad faith for insurer to pursue investigation into underlying lawsuit before considering settlement demand. ...more
Last year, in Gomez v. Campbell-Ewald Co., No. 13-55486, 2014 WL 4654478 (9th Cir. Sept. 19, 2014), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that offers of complete relief made to individual plaintiffs under Fed....more
SPECIAL FOCUS: FCC Adopts Significant Changes to TCPA Rules - FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to revise the Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules passed by a 3-2 vote during yesterday’s Open Commission Meeting....more
Mediators are neutrals. A mediator is not a fact-finder, and should not act as a judge to decide the merits of a case. The role of a mediator is to be a facilitator, to assist the parties in finding a mutually acceptable...more
Judge Kaplan of S.D. New York recently issued a preliminary injunction to enjoin ZTE from further disclosing information subject to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that ZTE had entered with Vringo to potentially settle...more