Merrill Lynch Settles Discrimination Suit for $160m - Aberration or New Normal?
Just a decade ago, it was still an open question whether parties could challenge the admissibility of expert testimony in class certification proceedings. The United States Supreme Court recognized the issue in Wal-Mart...more
On March 24, 2021, Judge William H. Pauley III of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted in part and denied in part the Plaintiffs’ motion for certification of three statewide classes of...more
On January 22, 2021, the Fifth Circuit vacated certification of a putative class action against chemical manufacturer Arkema Inc., holding that courts must conduct a full Daubert analysis when expert testimony is relevant to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As measured by the top ten largest case resolutions in various workplace class action categories, overall settlement numbers increased slightly in 2019, but as compared to the last several years, it was one...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The second key trend from our 16th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report involves rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. Over the past few years, the Supreme Court has issued a number of rulings that...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
Assuming Judge Gorsuch's confirmation, the Court will add a Justice with extensive commercial litigation experience, a particular expertise in antitrust and securities law, and a track record on the bench that demonstrates a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As profiled in our recent publication of the 13th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report, the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings have a profound impact on employers and the tools they may utilize to...more
There is no doubt that the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will have major repercussions on Supreme Court jurisprudence. A 30-year veteran of the Court, Justice Scalia was known for his originalist positions and...more
Plaintiffs can count the first class action decision to be issued by the U.S. Supreme Court since the death of Justice Scalia as a win; although, they did not receive broad authorization to proceed carte blanche, as some had...more
In its 2011 Dukes decision, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the circumstances under which groups of employees can maintain class action claims relating to their employment. In that case, the Court concluded that Wal-Mart...more
On March 22, 2016, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that employees can potentially rely on admissible statistical sampling data to establish classwide liability in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, No. 14-1146...more
On February 13, 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia, the anchor of the Court’s conservative wing for nearly three decades, passed away. He leaves behind a distinguished legal career that involved experience in wide range of roles....more
The late Justice Antonin Scalia was not the biggest fan of antitrust law. As he famously quipped during his Senate confirmation hearing: “In law school, I never understood [antitrust law]. I later found out, in reading the...more
No one has done more to shape class action law than Justice Antonin Scalia. His unexpected passing yesterday, even while important class action cases remain under advisement, will spark a renewed push to tilt class action...more
In our third installment of articles looking at the employment law cases being heard by the US Supreme Court this fall term, Tyson Foods Inc. v. Bouaphakeo will have importance in both the wage & hour and class action...more
Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decisions in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011) and AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 321 (2011), I appeared before a federal district judge on a motion to dismiss...more
A recent Sixth Circuit decision that affirmed certification of a multi-state consumer class action asserting false advertising claims concerning Align – a Proctor & Gamble probiotic product promising digestive health benefits...more
The plaintiffs in three actions against entities and individuals involved in the Full Tilt Poker Internet gambling operation dismissed their claims without prejudice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New...more
On July 7, the Sixth Circuit decided Phipps v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 13-6194, 2015 WL 4079441 (6th Cir. July 7, 2015), an interlocutory appeal in one of the regional progeny of the U.S. Supreme Court’s famous decision in...more
You run a business. You sell actual products. You employ hundreds, or even thousands, of warm-blooded employees, all with names, families, and histories. You battle real competitors daily. Your customers, thank goodness, are...more
In This Issue: - The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015 - Class Certification Decisions: ..Decisions Granting Motions to Strike/Dismiss Class Claims ..Decisions Denying Motions to...more
I’ve been delayed a bit in reporting on this, but the October 2015 term of the U.S. Supreme Court is shaping up to be a blockbuster one for class action law. Perhaps even bigger than the October 2010 term, which brought us...more
Last week, the Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to Tyson Foods in an appeal of a class and collective action filed under the FLSA and a similar Iowa state law. Hourly workers at Tyson’s Storm Lake, Iowa pork...more
Three years ago, the Supreme Court found in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541, 2551-52 (2011) that courts “frequently” will need to look to the merits in determining whether certification is appropriate,...more