Editor's Overview - As we have observed on other occasions, the ERISA class action plaintiffs' bar has, for several years now, honed in on 401(k) plan fiduciaries and their decisions to select and retain investment options...more
The Ninth Circuit has upheld dismissal of a class action complaint on Twombly/Iqbal plausibility grounds, noting that the standard has its roots in “judicial experience and common sense.” In Ebner v. Fresh, Inc., — F.3d —-,...more
Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decisions in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011) and AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 321 (2011), I appeared before a federal district judge on a motion to dismiss...more
Editor's Overview - This month, we review the Second Circuit's ruling in New York State Psychiatric Ass'n, Inc. v. UnitedHealth Grp. wherein the Second Circuit ruled that: (i) a provider association has associational...more
Winds of change are blowing through Europe’s national courts, beginning with a new antitrust damages Directive requiring changes in national laws to facilitate private enforcement of competition law. This step was a major...more
Greg Landers, who was employed as a cable services installer, brought suit individually and on behalf of other similarly situated persons, alleging that Quality failed to pay him and the other employees minimum and overtime...more
On November 12, 2014, in Greg Landers v. Quality Communications Inc., the Ninth Circuit clarified a previously unsettled point of law by confirming that Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) pleadings must meet the specificity...more
In a decision upholding most of the class action antitrust claims against 12 of the world’s largest financial institutions, Judge Cote of the Southern District of New York held that the plaintiffs had standing and alleged...more
In Bell Atlantic Co. v. Twombly, the Supreme Court injected a “plausibility” standard into Rule 12(b)(6) for claims asserting an alleged antitrust conspiracy. Since then, lower courts, scholars, and practitioners have written...more