The Roundup is a monthly publication that covers the previous month’s notable class action decisions from federal appellate courts, as well as notable Supreme Court cert petitions related to class actions....more
The decision to grant or deny class certification is usually the most pivotal aspect of a putative class action. A denial of class certification frequently disposes of the case altogether, while a grant often leads to...more
Class actions have long been difficult to certify in fraud cases. But a recent district court decision in California takes a new approach that would make class certification in fraud cases the norm. That decision is now on...more
On December 1, 2022, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a district court’s certification of a nationwide class of 8,000+ retirement plans serving hundreds of thousands of participants in an ERISA action...more
In Ford v. TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 12008 (8th Cir. Apr. 23, 2021), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a district court’s order certifying a class of customers who had...more
The Ninth Circuit approved use of statistical analysis that relies on averaging but reversed class certification because the district court failed to resolve whether more than a de minimis number of putative class members...more
Plaintiffs seeking class action treatment in West Virginia state court may find a less hospitable environment in the wake of a recent decision. In State ex rel. Surnaik Holdings of WV, LLC v. Bedell, the Supreme Court of...more
In a favorable opinion for employers, the California Court of Appeal for the Second District concluded the following on December 4, 2019, in David Cacho v. Eurostar, Inc...more
On November 15, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit decertified a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class in Cordoba v. DIRECTV, LLC (No. 18-12077, 2019 WL 6044305), finding that the plaintiff could not adequately identify...more
On August 16, the D.C. Circuit held in a high-profile antitrust MDL involving railroad shippers that the plaintiffs failed to satisfy Rule 23(b)(3)’s predominance requirement because their expert’s damages model calculated...more
On August 8, the Ninth Circuit issued a highly anticipated decision affirming the district court’s certification of a class of Facebook users who suffered alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act...more
A recent class certification opinion may increase the risk of exposure and liability in class actions for businesses that impose fees using specific labels. In Waste Pro USA v. Vision Construction Ent., Inc., a Florida...more
On August 16, 2019, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a denial of class certification to a proposed class of shippers seeking to recover damages from Class 1 railroads for an alleged price-fixing conspiracy. The...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
On March 18, the Supreme Court declined to review a Sixth Circuit decision affirming an Ohio federal court’s order certifying a class on specific issues in a groundwater pollution suit....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a recent decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rebuked a Pennsylvania district court’s skeletal analysis of plaintiffs’ class action claims. Particularly, the court took issue with the district...more
A Louisiana appeals court recently affirmed class certification in consolidated lawsuits, pending since 1991, against Louisiana’s Department of Insurance, other related state entities, and the state’s excess insurance...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
In recent years, creative plaintiff-side class action attorneys in New Jersey have attempted to seek relief under the Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (“TCCWNA”), which allows for $100 in statutory damages...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
This week, in Meyers v. Nicolet Rest. of de Pere, LLC, No. 16-2075 (7th Cir. Dec. 13, 2016), the Seventh Circuit narrowed standing to bring lawsuits under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) in holding that...more
The Modafinil decision bodes well for defendants and represents another step toward increased scrutiny of the class action device in the Third Circuit. On September 13, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for...more
Brown is a "defense favorable" opinion that should be heavily relied upon when challenging class actions. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recent opinion in Brown v. Electrolux Home Products, 2016 WL 1085517 (11th...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