A sometimes-overlooked aspect of class action law is how class certification rules interact with the Rules Enabling Act, which provides that rules of procedure and evidence “shall not abridge, enlarge or modify any...more
Takeaway: From the perspective of attorneys representing class action defendants, it seems that some circuits (especially the Ninth Circuit) do not give much deference to district court decisions denying class certification....more
The en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's recent watershed decision in Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative Inc. v. Bumble Bee Foods LLC established several significant benchmarks for determining class...more
Over the past 25 years, I have had the good fortune of getting to know and working with both plaintiff and defendant class action lawyers from many states, and to teach class action practice in dozens of local and national...more
In April 2021, the Ninth Circuit issued its panel opinion in Wholesale Grocery Cooperative v. Bumble Bee Foods LLC, which held that the district court erred in certifying several classes of tuna purchasers in an antitrust...more
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
A recent Seventh Circuit decision makes an important point about how the principle that a court generally need not resolve the merits to decide class certification is bilateral – it applies to both affirmative claims and...more
Takeaway: The individual claims asserted by a class representative – as well as the defenses that apply to those claims – form the foundation of any effort to certify a class under Rule 23. If the claims of the class...more
On August 30, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a decision in Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley v. ACT, Inc. that addresses how plaintiffs can satisfy the predominance requirement in federal class...more
Takeaway: Judge Timothy Corrigan of the Middle District of Florida recently found a way to certify a class action where consumers alleged the theft of payment card data, acknowledging he “may be the first to certify a Rule...more
Eighth Circuit Overturns Class Certification in Suit Against TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., Holding Individualized Evidence is Required for Each Putative Class Member; District Judge Approves Magistrate’s Recommendation to Deny...more
On February 2, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of class certification for failure to prove an administratively feasible method to identify absent class members. The Eleventh Circuit’s rejection...more
Eleventh Circuit Rejects Administrative Feasibility Requirement: What Does the Future Hold for Ascertainability? As we discussed in our Spring 2017 issue of The Class Action Chronicle, courts have struggled to define the...more
In a scathing decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Court denied class certification of the Allergan securities class action (“Allergan”). See In re Allergan PLC Sec. Litig.,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Although federal courts are certifying class actions at a record rate, a recent opinion by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio demonstrates that the requirements of Rule 23 are not...more
After receiving a bankruptcy discharge, a borrower whose home is pending foreclosure has two options: stay in the home and, perhaps, make voluntary payments on the mortgage, or leave the home and start fresh. When a debt...more
What were they thinking, anyway? Eighteen months ago, a group of African American financial advisors brought suit against JPMorgan Chase for alleged race discrimination and retaliation....more
Just when you thought litigating Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class actions was as unsafe as it could get for defendants, the Ninth Circuit said, “Not so fast.” In McKesson v. True Health, two chiropractic...more
In Tyson Foods, the Supreme Court declined to resolve the issue of whether a class may be certified if it contains members who were not injured and have no legal right to damages. ...more
TCPA cases often involve brightly-lit esoteric legal issues that attract law nerd moths like me from all corners. Last week I explored one way intervention, and I had so much fun that this week I’d like to ruminate on the...more
This edition focuses on rulings issued between November 16, 2017, and February 15, 2018. In this issue, we cover five decisions granting motions to strike/dismiss class claims, seven decisions denying such motions, 15...more
On July 7, in In re Petrobras Securities, the 2nd Circuit declined to adopt an independent “administrative feasibility” requirement for class certification under Rule 23. In so holding, the 2nd Circuit joined the 6th, 7th,...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a lengthy opinion today in the long-running In re Vivendi, S.A. Securities Litigation, affirming the jury’s verdict on liability and addressing issues about loss...more
This is the 12th 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 issued...more
Class actions consume considerable company resources and can pose significant risk of exposure in the $ millions or $ billions. Therefore, it is critical for companies to prepare themselves – to know the trends in class...more