Mass Torts vs. Class Actions: A Tale of Two Strategies
Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Putative Class Claims
Class Action | Eleventh Circuit Reinstates No Hire Antitrust Claims Against Burger King
John Lewis of BakerHostetler Discusses Use of Social Media in Gawker Class Action
Wearables and the Future of Intellectual Property Law
Welcome back to the Class Action & MDL Roundup! This edition covers notable class actions from the fourth quarter of 2024. In this edition, an overdue audiobook suit is shelved, an old case gets new reps and new...more
Employment arbitration agreements are an important tool for employers who wish to resolve workplace disputes in a more streamline fashion and, more importantly, avoid class and collective actions. However, enforcing...more
On August 16, 2024, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on whether out-of-state plaintiffs must satisfy personal jurisdiction requirements to participate in a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
A Single Incident Of Harassing Conduct May Create A Hostile Work Environment - Beltran v. Hard Rock Hotel Licensing, Inc., 97 Cal. App. 5th 865 (2023) - Stephanie Beltran, a server at the Hard Rock Hotel in Palm...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit considers when common issues predominate in wage-and-hour litigation and analyzes the assignment of the right to sue for nonpayment of benefits under ERISA. MILES v. KIRKLAND'S STORES, INC....more
On January 3, 2024, the defendant in Heppard v. Dunham’s Athleisure Corporation filed an interlocutory appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, arguing that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District...more
Welcome back to the Class Action & MDL Roundup! This edition covers notable class actions from the third quarter of 2023. In this edition, a mistake is just a mistake, “99.99%” isn’t 100% clear, and faxes aren’t always...more
Employers in Washington are facing a flurry of class actions alleging violations of the state’s new pay transparency law. While it is too early to gauge the viability of the claims, employers doing business in Washington may...more
A putative class action recently filed in Seattle, Washington, against a solar energy equipment company could be the first lawsuit to test the bounds of the state’s relatively new restrictions on noncompetition agreements for...more
In a matter of first impression, a panel for the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a judgment of the District Court of New Jersey in Singh v. Uber Techs., Inc. (April 26, 2023), compelling arbitration in a...more
For businesses using independent contractor vendors, misclassification claims are usually well-suited for class certification. A plaintiff’s path toward certifying a class can be relatively smooth when all vendors of a...more
A federal judge in New York recently held that workers cannot assert claims for violations of New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) in federal court – a ruling that further helps employers defend against these...more
In Thornton v. Tyson Foods, Inc., No. 20-2124, 2022 WL 727628 (10th Cir. March 11, 2022), a consumer who purchased beef from retail stores filed a class action complaint against meat processors, alleging that their "Product...more
Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, 2021 WL 2965438 (July 15, 2021) - On July 15, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision, Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, regarding the rate at which premium...more
In this issue of the Arent Fox Class Action Quarterly Update, we will be focusing on one recent California Supreme Court decision and two court of appeal decisions impacting the fashion and retail industries. Key Retail...more
Garner v. Inter-State Oil Co., 52 Cal.App.5th 619, Cal. App. 3 Dist., June 26, 2020, as modified (Jul 23, 2020) - Plaintiff filed a class action alleging that his employer, Inter-State Oil Co., violated a variety of wage...more
More than six months into the pandemic, there is still no easy or definitive answer to the question many retailers are asking about whether there is coverage for their business interruption losses related to COVID-19....more
Davidson v. O’Reilly Auto Enter., LLC, 968 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 2020) - Kia Davidson worked as a delivery specialist at one of O’Reilly’s stores in San Bernardino. In this putative class action, Davidson alleged that she...more
Adams v. West Marine Prods., Inc., 958 F.3d 1216 (9th Cir. 2020) - Adrianne Adams filed a putative wage and hour class action in state court, which her former employer (West Marine) removed to federal court under the...more
Herrera v. Zumiez, Inc., 953 F.3d 1063 (9th Cir. 2020) - Alexa Herrera filed this putative class action against her employer, alleging that Zumiez failed to provide reporting-time pay to employees at its California retail...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently articulated a new statutory framework for determining whether notice to a putative plaintiff should be issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). At...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently underscored that removal practice under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) differs in some important respects from traditional removal practice in non-CAFA cases. It did so...more
Wage and Hour - 80/20 Rule Still Followed in Some Parts - The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance doing away with the so-called "80/20 rule" in November 2018. District courts have greeted the new guidance...more
The next hearing session of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) is scheduled for January 31, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Six matters are set for oral argument to consider motions to transfer each...more
How can a company manage its overtime policy in compliance with California law? A recent decision by a federal district court in California certified a class action involving claims of unpaid overtime, and the court’s...more