In a question of first impression, the Seventh Circuit joined the Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits—and disagreed with the Fifth Circuit—and held that a party seeking certification of an issue class under Rule...more
Welcome back to the Class Action & MDL Roundup! Our fall edition covers notable class actions from the third quarter of 2019. The circuit courts were busy with class actions in the third quarter. Appellate judges were able...more
Welcome to the latest edition of the Food & Beverage Digest, our roundup of court cases and settlements affecting the agribusiness, food, beverage, and cosmetics industry. Here you’ll find information about cases...more
The District of Oregon recently denied a motion for treble damages following a jury verdict finding that defendant made over 1.8 million advertising calls to the named plaintiff and other members of a certified class....more
In another blow to plaintiffs suing under New Jersey’s Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty, and Notice Act (“TCCWNA”), the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Martinez-Santiago v. Public Storage,...more
Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the provision that requires those participating in a federal claim for minimum wages or overtime to opt in to the class, making Rule 23 inapplicable. The same...more
Expert testimony plays a critical role in nearly all putative class actions, including at the class certification stage where parties rely on expert evidence to address the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23....more
This edition focuses on rulings issued between May 15, 2017, and August 15, 2017. In this issue, we cover four decisions granting motions to strike/dismiss class claims, five decisions denying such motions, 27 decisions...more
Ten years into litigation, a hospital has moved to decertify a class of plaintiffs who claim the hospital’s merger caused them to overpay for medical services. Arguing there is insufficient proof that class members were...more
This is the 15th edition of The Class Action Chronicle, a quarterly publication that provides an analysis of class action trends, along with a summary of recent class certification and Class Action Fairness Act rulings. Our...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: This is the fifth installment of our blog series on key trends for workplace class action litigation in 2016. In terms of the sheer number of rulings, a significant trend saw wage & hour class action and...more
In the third post of our series on workplace class action issues, this blog posting focuses on the statistical study of class certification rulings throughout the Unites States in 2016. Not unlike real estate, location – in...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Third Circuit has shaken up long-standing precedent and created a split among the circuits, such that now employers should not only evaluate its employment decisions for the effect on individuals over...more
2017 could be big for litigation over “Big Data” applications in insurance. This past year saw the filing of several “price optimization” class actions, and claims against a fraud detection tool, similar to the ones used by...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After certifying a class of Haitian blueberry pickers who asserted Title VII discrimination claims, Judge James Moody of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a sua sponte order...more
With all the drama of a get-away chase, the Third Circuit recently brought to a screeching halt plaintiffs’ counsel’s elaborate maneuvers to end run repeated decertification of their FLSA actions, and held as a matter of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Lubin v. Wackenhut Corp., the California Court of Appeal reinstated an effort to certify a class of over 10,000 security officers required to sign on-duty meal period agreements. The Court of Appeal...more
The Second Circuit recently held that under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, a district court judge can decertify a class after a jury verdict in favor of the class but before entering judgment, upholding a Southern...more
Allstate Insurance Company “insured” a major victory last week in an off the clock class action pending in Los Angeles Superior Court, vindicating employers’ argument that plaintiffs cannot simply intone the magical...more
New Jersey restaurant-goers alleging that TGI Friday’s, Inc. (TGIF) violated state consumer protection laws by omitting drink prices from its menus will have to proceed with their claims individually after the New Jersey...more
This is the ninth edition of The Class Action Chronicle, a quarterly publication that provides an analysis of recent class action trends, along with a summary of class certification and Class Action Fairness Act rulings...more
The Eighth Circuit recently held that a district court abused its discretion by certifying four classes of Nebraska consumers in an action against a debt collector and its attorneys for alleged violations of the Fair Debt...more
On November 6, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted in part defendant Dole’s motion for decertification in Brazil v. Dole Packaged Foods, LLC. In...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a lower court’s decertification of a class alleging violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. Plaintiffs filed a class action alleging that defendants,...more
While the now familiar two-step process for determining certification of FLSA collective actions may have been introduced based on valid concerns, it is increasingly vexing for employers in cases where they have either done...more