The Middle District of Tennessee recently denied a motion for class certification for a group of dental providers in a suit against SmileDirectClub (“SmileDirect”). Ciccio v. SmileDirectClub, LLC, No. 3:19-CV-00845, 2024 WL...more
The Ninth Circuit’s recent en banc decision in In re Hyundai and Kia Fuel Economy Litigation, — F.3d —, 2019 WL 2376831 (9th Cir. Jun. 6, 2019), restored some much-needed balance to the class action universe. The court...more
Reversing itself in a 7-4 en banc decision, the Ninth Circuit reinstated a $210 million settlement in multidistrict class action litigation over the advertised fuel efficiency of Hyundai and Kia vehicles, making approval of...more
The Southern District of California certified a food labeling class against Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. based in part upon a price premium damages model developed by an aptly named Dr. Belch....more
The Ninth Circuit has agreed to review a panel decision from the court which rejected a settlement in multidistrict litigation over the fuel efficiency of Hyundai Motor America Inc. and Kia Motors Corp. vehicles. The case and...more
The Northern District of California recently denied class certification to a plaintiff who alleged that Gerber Products misbranded nutritional claims about baby food products in violation of state and federal labeling laws....more
In a split panel, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s certification of a nationwide class action settlement because the lower court failed to conduct a sufficient predominance inquiry under Rule...more
On January 23, 2018, in a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit sent class-action lawyers into a tizzy when it handed down its decision in In re Hyundai and Kia Fuel Econ. Litig., No. 15-56067, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 1626 (Jan. 23,...more
Plaintiff’s putative class action alleged that defendant Mott’s violated FDA regulations and California’s Sherman Law and Unfair Competition Law when it labeled and sold its 100 percent apple juice with the label “No Sugar...more
A representative plaintiff who purchased Aveeno sunscreen products and baby bath products brought putative class actions against the products’ manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, in the United State District Court for the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently upheld certification of a class of retail purchasers of Wesson-brand cooking oil in a false advertising case, despite the fact that almost all class members will never...more
On January 3, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to adopt “administrative feasibility” as an independent requirement for class certification. It held that Rule 23 does not require class counsel to show at the...more
Key Points - - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that Dole’s “All Natural” food labels on products containing synthetic ingredients could be misleading to a reasonable consumer. - The 9th...more
Study Finds Low Compliance for Native Advertising - According to a new study, roughly 70 percent of websites are not compliant with the Federal Trade Commission's recently released native advertising guidelines. ...more
Khasin v. R. C. Bigelow, Inc., No. 12-CV-02204-WHO, 2016 WL 1213767 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2016), provides a recent example of a class-certification denial premised on the “damages model” rule expressed in Comcast Corp. v....more
In Pulaski & Middleman v. Google, Inc., the Ninth Circuit recently held that a class could be certified in connection with Google AdWords, even though damages would require some individualized calculations....more
In Pulaski & Middleman, LLC v. Google, Inc., No. 12-16752, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 16723 (9th Cir. Sept. 21, 2015), a Ninth Circuit panel held that individualized damages (or restitution) calculations cannot alone defeat Rule...more
A panel from the Seventh Circuit split from the Third and Eleventh Circuits and rejected what it described to be a “heightened” ascertainability requirement under Rule 23(b)(3). In Mullins v. Direct Digital, LLC, plaintiff...more
In Werdebaugh v. Blue Diamond Growers, the plaintiff brought suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to certify a nationwide class of consumers who purchased Blue Diamond almond milk...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California certified a Rule 23(b)(2) class for injunctive and declaratory relief but denied plaintiff’s motion for class certification under Rule 23(b)(3) because plaintiff...more
In a number of recent district court decisions from across the country, courts have denied requests to certify nationwide or statewide classes in cases involving consumer products. These decisions could prove helpful in...more