Key Points -
The en banc 9th Circuit clarified numerous rules applicable to class actions brought under Rule 23(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The court’s watershed decision in Olean Wholesale Grocery v....more
Service contracts allow retailers and manufacturers to offer service plans for consumer products, and sellers and administrators of such contracts are categorically exempted from California’s ARL....more
A federal district court rejected a novel request from class counsel for reimbursement of counsel’s litigation funding expenses. According to the court in Perez v. Rash Curtis & Assoc., No. 16-03396 (N.D. Cal. October 1,...more
Key Points -
The U.S. Supreme Court held that all members of a certified class must demonstrate that they suffered a concrete harm—such as physical injury or monetary loss—to have Article III standing to recover damages in...more
6/30/2021
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Members ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
TransUnion ,
TransUnion LLC v Ramirez
The U.S. Supreme Court granted review last week in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, which presents the question of whether Article III or Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits a damages class action where most...more
12/23/2020
/ Article III ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Class Representatives ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
FRCP 23 ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Standing ,
TransUnion
- The 9th Circuit has held that settlement of a plaintiff’s individual claims moots the appeal of an order denying class certification, unless the settlement agreement specifically preserves the plaintiff’s personal stake in...more
6/18/2020
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Representatives ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
Mootness ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Negotiations
- In a departure from the majority view, the 2nd Circuit has held that a texting platform need not have the capacity for random or sequential number generation in order to constitute an an automatic telephone dialing system...more
- In a matter of first impression within the 9th Circuit, the court held that each member of a certified class must have Article III standing in order to recover individual monetary damages at trial.
- Those class members...more
3/9/2020
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Credit Reports ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Punitive Damages ,
Standing ,
Statutory Damages ,
Statutory Violations ,
TransUnion
Key Points
- On January 27, 2020, the 11th Circuit held that telephone equipment must randomly or sequentially generate numbers in order to constitute an “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) under the Telephone...more
• In Salcedo v. Hanna, the court found that a single text message sent in alleged violation of the TCPA does not result in concrete injury required by Article III.
• A single text message does not result in the type of...more
• In Noel v. Thrifty Payless, Inc., the California Supreme Court clarified the scope of the ascertainability prerequisite to class certification. The Court held that proposed classes are ascertainable if defined by objective...more
These days, companies conducting background checks on job applicants have a lot to think about. Most companies are aware of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and FCRA’s various state analogs. FCRA, one of a number of...more
6/19/2019
/ Background Checks ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Reports ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Application ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants
• En banc 9th Circuit affirmed a $210 million settlement in multidistrict litigation against Hyundai and Kia relating to their alleged misrepresentations about the fuel efficiency of their vehicles, reversing the decision of...more
• May 31, 2019, was the deadline for the California Legislature to pass bills out of the chamber in which they were introduced. Several measures proposing amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) passed the...more
6/5/2019
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Amendments
• On May 16, 2019, the California Senate Appropriations Committee held Senate Bill 561 (SB-561) in committee, likely blocking its passage this term.
• SB-561, co-authored by the California Attorney General, would have...more
• The Supreme Court has once again affirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) protects a party’s right to individualized arbitration, and preempts state policy that would force resolution of broader, more complex...more
4/26/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Arbitration ,
Consent ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
• On March 20, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded a case involving the use of cy pres in lieu of specific relief to individual class members in a proposed settlement for a determination of whether the plaintiffs had...more
3/25/2019
/ Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cy Pres Funds ,
Frank v Gaos ,
FRCP 23(e) ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Vacated
“I sleep like a baby . . . I wake up every two hours crying.” - Jim Donald, President & CEO of Albertsons when interviewed at Shoptalk about how he deals with the pace of certain competitors.
“The industry is in such a sea...more
3/8/2019
/ Advertising ,
Business Development ,
Competition ,
Customer Information ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Use Policies ,
Marketing ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Retailers ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector
• The 9th Circuit held that, because a website and mobile app were auxiliary services of a place of public accommodation, they were required to be ADA-compliant.
• This holding is limited to claims that the lack of...more
1/25/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Mobile Apps ,
Public Accommodation ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
• Central District of California Local Rule 23-3 requires plaintiffs to file a motion for class action certification within 90 days of service of the complaint.
• The 9th Circuit in ABS Entertainment overturned Local Rule...more
1/14/2019
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Bright-Line Rule ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Discovery ,
Filing Deadlines ,
FRCP 23 ,
Local Rules ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment
• Companies across industries have been facing TCPA litigation based upon calls and text messages to reassigned telephone numbers.
• On December 12, 2018, the FCC—with the support of many parties and industry groups—voted...more
• Companies across industries continue to face TCPA litigation and address compliance challenges.
• The FCC will soon be addressing key TCPA issues in the wake of the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in ACA International.
• One...more
• Parting company with the 3rd Circuit, the 9th Circuit has ruled that equipment that can automatically dial stored numbers may qualify as an ATDS under the TCPA.
• The ruling creates a split of authority as to whether the...more
9/26/2018
/ ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
FCC ,
Predictive Coding ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Smartphones ,
Split of Authority ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Vacated
• In most TCPA cases, a threshold question is whether a called party has provided prior express consent to receive calls (or texts) using an automatic telephone dialing system.
• While numerous courts have ruled that a party...more
9/6/2018
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Dish Network ,
FCC ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Revocation ,
Robocalling ,
Summary Judgment ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages