After a decades-long drought, the Supreme Court recently decided a case involving the Contracts Clause of the Constitution. You might not recall that provision because it is so rarely invoked in modern-day litigation (due to...more
This week, in China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, under its prior decision in American Pipe & Constr. Co. v. Utah, 414 U.S. 538 (1974), the filing of a putative class action suit tolls the...more
6/13/2018
/ Appeals ,
China Agritech Inc v Resh ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Equitable Tolling ,
FRCP 23 ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subsequent Litigation
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela, No. 17-988. The question presented in the petition for certiorari is: “Whether the Federal Arbitration Act forecloses a state-law interpretation of...more
The Supreme Court recently granted review in a case that involves whether, or in what circumstances, cy pres relief may be used in class action settlements. ...more
The Ninth Circuit recently ruled in favor of President Trump. That was not a typo, and this is not fake news. The ruling was not in favor of Trump in his official capacity, but in his capacity as a class action defendant....more
Discovery disputes in class actions often focus on plaintiffs’ requests for computer data regarding putative class members’ claims, and how far defendants need to go in providing such data. ...more
The Ninth Circuit’s decision this week vacating a class action settlement in In re Hyundai and Kia Fuel Economy Litig., No. 15-65014 (9th Cir. Jan. 23, 2018) is getting a lot of attention in the class action bar. ...more
In Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the California state courts lacked personal jurisdiction over claims made by out-of-state plaintiffs in a mass action,...more
In a long-running employment class action in California, a California Court of Appeal recently addressed once again the use of surveys of class members....more
When a defendant receives an adverse decision on a motion for class certification, whether the court of appeals grants permission to appeal under Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (or a state-court...more
Security researchers this week have found a new vulnerability that affects Wi-Fi Protected Access II, also known as WPA2, which is the security protocol used by many wireless networks. The vulnerability, Key Reinstallation...more
10/24/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Drones ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Email ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Hackers ,
Hyatt ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Devices ,
Network Security ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Public Wireless Networks ,
Risk Management ,
SCOTUS ,
Stored Communications Act ,
US-CERT ,
Vulnerability Assessments ,
Wifi ,
Wireless Technology
In an order issued on October 16, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in United States v. Microsoft Corporation, a case with potentially far-reaching implications for the privacy of electronic data maintained by...more
10/20/2017
/ Certiorari ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Email ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Ireland ,
Microsoft ,
Popular ,
Search Warrant ,
Stored Communications Act ,
Subpoenas
The Supreme Court began its new Term yesterday with oral arguments in cases involving whether arbitration agreements permitting only individual (non-class) arbitrations are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act, or...more
This week the Eighth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in a class action against State Farm involving the “labor depreciation” issue that I have covered extensively on this blog. State Farm prevailed on both the merits...more
10/2/2017
/ Appeals ,
Cash Value ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Depreciation ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Repairs ,
State Farm
There have been a substantial number of putative class actions filed recently against insurers involving the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA). These cases are typically filed by assignees of Medicare advantage...more
An emerging issue in class action litigation against the insurance industry involves an attempt by plaintiffs’ attorneys to argue that insurers should not be permitted to apply any deductible to payments made on an actual...more
There have been two recent federal district court decisions in the widespread class action litigation involving the application of depreciation to the labor cost component of replacement cost value on property insurance...more
8/15/2017
/ Class Action ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Depreciation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Repairs ,
Replacement Costs ,
State Farm
Here are my highlights from the second day of DRI’s 2017 Class Action Seminar:
Class Action Waivers in Employment Agreements (Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells) -
Neal Katyal is a leading Supreme Court advocate and is litigating...more
8/3/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Ethics ,
FRCP 23 ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Settlement ,
TCPA
At the recent DRI Class Action Seminar, I asked Alison Frankel of Thomson Reuters how she thinks corporate defendants should best handle media inquiries relating to class action suits. Here’s what I gleaned from her...more
I recently had the privilege of serving as vice chair for this year’s Defense Research Institute (DRI) Class Action Seminar. As I’ve done in years past, here are some highlights from the first day’s programming...more
8/1/2017
/ American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Canada ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
FACTA ,
FDCPA ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Supreme Court of Canada ,
Trump Administration
This week the Supreme Court issued a new opinion in a case that involved the scope of personal jurisdiction in a nationwide mass action brought in a state court. Although it is not entirely clear the extent to which this...more
The Supreme Court recently decided a case involving an Xbox 360, although the issue before them had nothing in particular to do with the video game system itself. It got me wondering, however, how many justices would you...more
6/20/2017
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Design Defects ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Xbox
The Supreme Court recently decided a case involving an Xbox 360, although the issue before them had nothing in particular to do with the video game system itself. It got me wondering, however, how many justices would you...more
In prior blog posts, I’ve covered developments in the putative class actions against insurance companies in Georgia involving diminution in value on property insurance claims (see my March 11, 2016 post, for example)....more
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