Executive Order 14042 (the “EO”) and the implementing FAR clause and Safer Workforce Task Force (SWTF) Guidance – which mandate that government contractors and their subcontractors be vaccinated absent a legal exception – has...more
New Hampshire, like many northeast states, is pursuing a concerted regulatory and litigation approach to address contamination from emerging contaminants in the so-called PFAS suite of chemicals, (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl...more
The Sixth Circuit recently held that Arizona lacked standing to intervene in, and object to, a nationwide class settlement at the settlement fairness hearing. The underlying case involved Tristar Products’ defective pressure...more
Does a state, whose citizens are among the absent class members in a class action settlement, have Article III standing to challenge the supposed unfairness of the settlement? In Chapman v. Tristar Products, Inc., the Sixth...more
Parens patriae is a Latin term which literally means “parent of the fatherland.” In parens patriae actions, a state sues on behalf of its citizens. The rights of the states to do this was first established in 1900 in...more
A federal district court in Hawaii held that a parens patriae action brought on behalf of the State of Hawaii by its Attorney General was not removable under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”) because it was not a class...more
U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Parens Patriae Suits Are Not Removable to Federal Court as “Mass Actions” Under the Class Action Fairness Act - On Jan. 14, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a parens patriae...more
The U.S. Supreme Court will rule on numerous significant cases in 2014, involving such issues as presidential power, affirmative action, campaign contributions, environmental regulations, intellectual property, commercial...more
On January 14, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous opinion that parens patriae suits brought by states on behalf of their citizens do not constitute “mass actions” under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). Miss....more
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court once again weighed in with a decision regarding class actions, but this time with a twist. In what is a rare event in the class action context, the Court handed down a unanimous decision in...more
This week the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp. that parens patriae actions in which the State is the sole plaintiff are not “mass actions” under the Class Action Fairness...more
On January 14, 2014, in Mississippi v. AU Optronics Corp., the Supreme Court held that a parens patriae action (one brought by the state on behalf of its injured citizens) does not constitute a ‘mass action’ and cannot be...more
On January 14, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held in an unanimous decision that parens patriae lawsuits filed by state attorneys general alleging only violations of state law may not be removed to federal court under the Class...more
Resolving a conflict in the circuits, the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a parens patriae action brought by a state attorney general is not removable from state to federal court as a “mass action” under the...more
On November 6, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in Mississippi v. AU Optronics Corp., Docket No. 12-1036. This case comes out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided The Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles , a case that dealt with the extent to which plaintiffs can avoid federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”) by...more
On May 28, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Mississippi v. AU Optronics Corporation, No. 12-1036, to consider whether a parens patriae action brought by a state attorney general is removable as a “mass...more
Breaking news: The Supreme Court today accepted certiorari in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp., Docket No. 12-1036. ...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that a parens patriae action brought by a state attorney general is not removable from state to federal court as a “class action” under the Class Action Fairness Act....more