These days it seems like nearly every data breach results in a multitude of class action filings. Some of these cases settle quickly with minimal litigation. In such a case, the Eighth Circuit recently reversed an attorneys’...more
Suppose that the central issue in a putative class action is a legal issue pending before the Supreme Court. Depending on how the Supreme Court rules, the plaintiffs will recover either nothing or up to $600 million. But...more
5/16/2024
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
Class Members ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages
A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarified that the benefit to the class is the “touchstone for determining the reasonableness of attorneys’ fees in a class action.” Under this decision, the fee should not be based on the...more
When a business is sued in a proposed class action and there is only a small amount at stake on the named plaintiff’s claim, often one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is: can’t we just pay the full value of the named...more
2/25/2020
/ Admissions of Liability ,
Appropriate Equitable Relief ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Business Ownership ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Defense Strategies ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
IL Supreme Court ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Mootness ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Removal ,
Rule 68 ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Tender Rules
A recent decision by a Washington federal district court caught my eye because it involved a circumstance I often see—a new development in the law results in a class action lawsuit being filed before the defendant has an...more
2/11/2020
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Auto Insurance ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Damages ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Likelihood of Harm ,
Mootness ,
Policy Terms ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Superiority Claims ,
Treble Damages
Class action settlements are complicated. They often take months to negotiate. The last thing the lawyers or their clients on either side want to happen is for the trial court to deny approval or, even worse, for an appellate...more
12/16/2019
/ Adult Entertainment ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Dancers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Settlement ,
Wage and Hour
A fair amount of attention has been given in the legal media to the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, H.R. 985, which has passed the House of Representatives and is currently under consideration by the Senate....more
3/28/2017
/ Appeals ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Discovery ,
FRCP 23(b)(2) ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Proposed Legislation
As I’ve done in past years, this post and the next one will summarize some takeaways I gleaned from this year’s DRI Class Action Seminar.
Impact of Dart Cherokee: Nowell Berreth, who argued this case in the Supreme...more
7/28/2015
/ Attorney's Fees ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. v. Owens ,
Daubert Standards ,
Dukes v Wal-Mart ,
FRCP 23 ,
Insurance Industry ,
Mediation ,
SCOTUS ,
Wal-Mart
Judge Posner of the Seventh Circuit continues to be prolific in authoring class action-related opinions. I enjoy blogging about these decisions because they are entertaining to read and usually relatively short and to the...more
Judge Posner of the Seventh Circuit is a frequent author of class action-related opinions. His most recent one reversed an order approving a class action settlement because the attorneys’ fee award was too high. The case...more