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
On April 6, 2021, the Ninth Circuit for the first time addressed a plaintiff’s burden to show predominance at the class certification stage. In Olean Wholesale Grocery Coop. v. Bumble Bee Foods LLC, the court joined the...more
The Supreme Court recently declined to review the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Mussat v. IQVIA, Inc., 953 F.3d 441 (7th Cir. 2020), which found that the logic of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 582 US...more
Ninth Circuit decision prohibits use of lodestar-only methodology to calculate a fee award for class action settlements involving coupons. The decision contemplates coupon class action settlements where coupons are...more
Several pending rulings at the circuit court level have the potential to significantly influence class action law in 2020. Of greatest note, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit may determine the future of...more
Parties have long argued over whether the filing of a class action tolls the statute of limitations for absent class members so that they can pursue a separate class action if the initial action fails to be certified for any...more
The Supreme Court’s decision last summer in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017), is my pick for “2017 Class Action Practitioners’ Case of the Year”––and it’s not even a class case....more
One of the first significant class action appellate decisions of 2017 was issued this week. In Briseno v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., No. 15-55727 (9th Cir. Jan. 3, 2017), the Ninth Circuit held that Rule 23 does not require that it...more
The Sixth Circuit recently affirmed approval of a class action settlement agreement, holding that “a post-settlement change in the law does not alter the binding nature of the parties’ settlement agreement, nor does it...more
I have had a busy summer and am overdue in updating readers on recent decisions in class actions against insurers involving the “labor depreciation” issue. The issue involves whether, when insurers estimate the “actual cash...more
In its seminal 1974 American Pipe opinion, the Supreme Court held that the commencement of a class action tolls the applicable statutes of limitation as to all putative class members who would have been parties had the class...more
On March 22, 2016, the Supreme Court issued a decision permitting class plaintiffs to rely on "representative" or "sample" evidence to satisfy the prerequisites to class certification and certain elements of their claims. ...more
In Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. __ (2016), the Supreme Court considered whether a case could proceed as a class action under Rule 23(b)(3) when the plaintiffs relied upon statistical, representative evidence to...more
In a decision that comes as a surprise to many observers, the U.S. Supreme Court held this week in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo et al. that plaintiffs can use representative evidence in a donning and doffing class or...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, addressing the use of statistical evidence in class actions. The plaintiffs’ bar will undoubtedly claim the decision as a victory because class...more
In a case that could change how wage and hour class and collective actions are litigated, Tyson Foods, Inc. recently filed its opening Supreme Court brief. Tyson seeks reversal of a $5.8 million judgment in favor of meat...more
Dealing a blow to defendants facing consumer fraud litigation in the 11th Circuit, the court of appeals for that circuit has reinstated a class action under the Alabama Deceptive Trade Practice Act (ADTPA), despite that the...more
You run a business. You sell actual products. You employ hundreds, or even thousands, of warm-blooded employees, all with names, families, and histories. You battle real competitors daily. Your customers, thank goodness, are...more
The Supreme Court recently granted Tyson Foods’ petition for certiorari which presents to the Court two important class action issues: (1) Whether differences among individual class members may be ignored and a class...more