A new Seventh Circuit decision – Santiago v. City of Chicago – bolsters the strategy among some class action defense lawyers to not bifurcate class certification and merits discovery. This strategy instead contemplates that...more
In Association of American Physicians & Surgeons v. United States Food and Drug Administration (“AAPS”), __ F.4th __, 2021 WL 4097325 (6th Cir. Sept. 9, 2021), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently cast doubt on the...more
Last year, the Seventh and D.C. Circuits addressed the contours of personal jurisdiction in federal class actions. Now, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the mix in Moser v. Benefytt, Inc., __ F.4th __, 2021 WL...more
For far too long, companies facing consumer and product liability litigation have relied solely on personal jurisdiction doctrine to try avoiding unfavorable forums applying unfavorable law. Personal jurisdiction doctrine,...more
Almost exactly a year ago, the first COVID-19 tuition reimbursement lawsuits were filed against higher education institutions across the United States and we warned of the continued onslaught of such litigation. With the...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent opinion in Lyngaas v. Curaden AG (“Lyngaas”), has important implications for federal class actions regarding personal jurisdiction and the use of non-admissible evidence to support...more
Recently, in the Matter of Navistar MaxxForce Engines Mktg., Sales Practices, & Prod. Liab. Litig. (“Navistar”), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals was asked to adopt the “reasonable indication” approach, which would allow...more
Since the Supreme Court’s May 16, 2016 decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, Article III standing has continued to be a major focus in federal courts. The Sixth Circuit’s opinion in Primus Group, LLC v. Smith & Wesson Corp.,...more
Earlier this week, the Eleventh Circuit joined the Second, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits in rejecting administrative feasibility as a prerequisite to certification under Rule 23, deepening a split with the First, Third,...more
On September 18, 2020, we wrote an article discussing how the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, No. 18-12344 (11th Cir. 2020) held that class action incentive payments...more
For more than a decade, United States District Courts have taken a stark approach to the need for appropriate class definitions and ascertainability in federal class actions. Mueller v. CBS, Inc., 200 F.R.D. 227, 233 (W.D....more
Earlier this year, we posted a three-part series on the Coronavirus and Class Action litigation (Part One, Part Two, and Part Three of our Coronavirus and Class Action litigation series). More recently, and almost a month...more
On September 17, 2020, in a potentially groundbreaking decision that could have huge implications for the future of class actions, a split panel of the Eleventh Circuit held that incentive payments given to a named plaintiff...more
In response to governmental recommendations, stay-at-home orders, and shelter-in-place orders, colleges and universities transitioned to distance learning to keep their students, staff, visitors, and communities safe and...more
For those who haven’t previously been following, this is our third installment on COVID-19 class actions. The first installment was prospective and authored prior to any filed class actions. The second installment examined...more
It has been a few weeks since we first posted about class actions and COVID-19. In that initial article, we analyzed the first coronavirus related lawsuit but were forced to prognosticate as to what an actual COVID-19 class...more
We recently discussed Circuit Court rulings allowing nationwide class actions where the named plaintiffs could satisfy specific personal jurisdiction. Since then, the Fifth Circuit has held that a defendant did not waive its...more
In the span of two days, two United States Court of Appeals held that a nationwide class action could proceed against a defendant as long as the named plaintiff could satisfy specific personal jurisdiction. ...more
On Tuesday May 28, 2019, the United State Supreme Court declined to afford state court third-party, class action defendants the ability to remove a class action to federal court. See Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson,...more