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December 11, 2013
First American Title Unit Reaches Deal In Fee Case
A First American Title Insurance Co. subsidiary on Wednesday sought preliminarily approval of a proposed settlement of a class action accusing it of securing title insurance from itself without ever searching for less expensive coverage from other companies when it acted as an escrow agent for plaintiffs trying to pay off home loans.
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December 11, 2013
Class Claims Over Old Republic Warranties Nixed Again
A California federal judge has again tossed claims in a putative class action accusing Old Republic Home Protection Co. of ripping off homeowners who purchased its warranties, saying the named plaintiff has still failed to support his allegations that the company had a duty to disclose alleged unfair business practices.
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December 11, 2013
2nd Circ. Removes Barrier To Flood Of Federal TCPA Suits
In a reversal of prior holdings, the Second Circuit ruled last week that a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision trumps a New York state ban on filing class actions for statutory damages in federal court, a decision that attorneys say clears the way for an influx of federal actions under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and similar statutes.
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December 11, 2013
BofA Shakes Fraud Suit Over Subprime Mortgage Standards
A New York federal judge on Wednesday threw out a fraud suit brought by a Florida investor who accused Bank of America Corp. of material misstatements and omissions concerning its subprime mortgage standards, finding the investor hadn't properly opted out of a related class action.
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December 11, 2013
Pharma Co. Investors Can Serve China Execs Via US Counsel
A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday said that shareholders bringing a derivative action against the leadership of American Oriental Bioengineering Inc. can serve the company’s China-based officers and directors through their U.S.-based counsel.
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December 11, 2013
Marriott Unit Can't Nix Time Share Insurance Suit
A Florida federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Marriott International Inc. subsidiary cannot entirely dodge a proposed class action accusing the company of fraudulently increasing time share prices by forcing customers to buy worthless insurance.
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December 11, 2013
Electrolux Faces Pa. Class Action Over Leaky Refrigerators
An Electrolux Home Products Inc. customer hit the appliance maker with a putative class action in Pennsylvania federal court on Tuesday alleging it sold refrigerators with defective ice makers that broke repeatedly and leaked, causing customers to rack up repair bills.
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December 11, 2013
P&G Can't Bar Testimony In Fixodent Suit, 11th Circ. Hears
A plaintiff in multidistrict litigation over Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Co. dental cream told the 11th Circuit on Wednesday that a lower court had erred in excluding expert testimony linking the cream to her neurological damage.
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December 11, 2013
NY Olive Oil Mislabeling Class Wins Cert. Bid
A New York federal judge granted class certification on Wednesday in litigation accusing Kangadis Food Inc. of misleading consumers by passing off olive oil adulterated with a different, industrially processed olive-based product as "100 percent pure."
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December 11, 2013
PetSmart Workers Win Conditional Class Cert. For OT Suit
A Delaware federal judge on Monday conditionally certified a class of PetSmart Inc. operations managers to bring a collective action claiming that the retail chain misclassified them as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime requirements.
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December 11, 2013
Quinn Emanuel Can't Shake Contract Atty's OT Action
A New York federal judge said Wednesday that she would not toss a putative class action a lawyer brought over Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's alleged failure to pay overtime to temp attorneys, ruling that the lawyer might be entitled to extra pay.
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December 11, 2013
Criminal Search Site Hit With Privacy, Extortion Suit
JustMugShots.com Corp. was hit with a putative class action in California state court Wednesday, accusing the online company of publishing mug shots and arrest data of people without consent or consideration of innocence and extorting fees from those who want to remove their information.
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December 11, 2013
$160M Deal To End Merrill Race Bias Suit Gets Final OK
The Illinois federal judge overseeing a class action accusing Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. subsidiary of discriminating against black financial advisers gave final approval Friday to a $160 million settlement resolving the case.
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December 11, 2013
Cohen Milstein Brings Ex-DOJ Official To DC Office
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC has hired former top U.S. Department of Justice official Matthew S. Axelrod to join as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office, the class action powerhouse said Tuesday.
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December 11, 2013
Nexium Direct Purchasers Win Class Cert. In Antitrust MDL
A Massachusetts judge granted class certification on Wednesday to a group of direct purchasers alleging AstraZeneca PLC and others breached antitrust laws by engineering the delay of a generic form of heartburn drug Nexium.
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December 11, 2013
Bridgepoint Education Tender Offer Is 'Disloyal,' Suit Says
A Bridgepoint Education Inc. shareholder launched a suit Monday accusing the higher education provider’s board of directors and majority shareholder Warburg Pincus Private Equity VIII LP of crafting a “self-dealing” tender offer for their shares at a premium that could drive the price up to $249.6 million.
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December 11, 2013
HP Laptop Buyers Seek Class Cert. In Warranty Suit
Hewlett-Packard Co. customers urged a California federal judge Wednesday to certify a nationwide class of consumers in a breach of warranty suit claiming custom-built laptops purchased on HP's online store couldn't use a dual-band wireless card, despite HP’s promises that they could.
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December 11, 2013
Stryker Fax Recipients Win Class Cert. In TCPA Suit
A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday granted class certification to recipients of Stryker Corp. faxes promoting orthopedics seminars, advancing a Cincinnati medical practice’s claims that the device maker’s faxes violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by not including an opt-out notice.
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December 11, 2013
Gristedes Owner Takes FLSA Liability Fight To High Court
The owner of New York City grocery chain Gristedes Foods Inc. on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Second Circuit's ruling that he could be held personally liable as an “employer” under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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December 11, 2013
Pringles Trans Fat Labeling Action Gets Trimmed
A California federal judge on Tuesday trimmed a proposed class action alleging Pringles chips, MorningStar riblets and fruit snack products made by Procter & Gamble Co. and Kellogg Co. were deceptively labeled as healthy, but left intact claims related to Pringles' trans fat content labeling.
Expert Analysis
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Amended Rule 45 Significantly Alters Subpoena Practice
The extensive amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 that took effect on Dec. 1, 2013, bring welcome changes that simplify and streamline subpoena practice. In particular, the elimination of uncertainty in determining where compliance can be required and where service can be effected will reduce the effort and costs involved in issuing subpoenas, say Lawrence Friedman and Sheilah Kane of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
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High Stakes In Sports-Licensing Antitrust Cases In 2014
Ongoing antitrust disputes in the sports-licensing context involving the NFL and its teams, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its member institutions, could have a profound effect on the business of professional and collegiate sports in 2014 and beyond, says Miriam Vishio of Dickstein Shapiro LLP.
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Year In Review For Product Liability
The past year has seen a number of major decisions impacting product liability practice, including a very active U.S. Supreme Court regarding the application of the Class Action Fairness Act. While the trend appears to somewhat favor manufacturers, consumer actions will continue to be fertile areas of litigation in 2014, says Eileen Ridley of Foley & Lardner LLP.
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Silent Ad Damnum Leaves NY Defendants High And Dry
Certainly, no defendant wishes to advocate for greater damages. In addition to having to advance such an untenable position for the privilege of gaining access to federal court, there are at least two other issues that a defendant in the Second Circuit should consider before spending the time and money to seek removal of an action when the complaint is ambiguous on its face as to the amount of damages sought, say Andre Cizmarik and Kara Cormier of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.
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Why Defense Should Monitor Social Media In Class Actions
The lesson from a Nevada federal court's recent decision in Gamble v. Boyd Gaming Corp. is that if defense counsel does have grounds for an injunction to stop false or misleading advertising on social media, it must make every effort to narrowly tailor their specific injunction requests to stop only the inappropriate contact with putative class members and not to infringe on the plaintiff’s counsel rights to free speech, says Casie Collignon of Baker & Hostetler LLP.
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How FRCP E-Discovery Amendments Could Affect You
In light of the proposed e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, businesses need to set themselves up to efficiently respond to discovery and requests for information from their counsel by implementing and following document-control policies as part of normal business practices. The failure to do so will eventually consume vast amounts of employee time, say Steven Cvitanovic and Colin Murphy of Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP.
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Chipotle Decision Signals New Class Action Obstacle
A recent class certification denial in a false advertising action challenging Chipotle's "naturally raised" meat claims seems to stem from the growing trend among federal courts of barring class certification on ascertainability grounds, say David Conway and Edward Boyle of Venable LLP.
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A Growing Consensus In Favor Of Labor Arbitration
Every appellate court to consider the issue has now rejected the National Labor Relations Board’s anti-arbitration position in D.R. Horton as out of step with the Federal Arbitration Act and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision interpreting the statute in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. And that growing consensus is a positive development for employers and employees alike, say Archis Parasharami and Scott Noveck of Mayer Brown LLP.
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To Stay Or Not To Stay GMO Labeling Cases?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet indicated whether products with genetically modified organisms can be labeled as “all natural,” nor has it indicated when such a label would be false or misleading. This lack of action has led some courts to stay proceedings in anticipation of a clear determination — the main question for courts in 2014 will be whether to stay future cases in hope of obtaining FDA guidance, says Josh Becker at Alston & Bird LLP.
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Consumer Protection Laws And Prescription Meds: A Poor Fit
There are several unique defenses, depending on the state, available to defendant pharmaceutical companies which arise from the discord between consumer protection statutes and prescription drugs, say Yvonne McKenzie and Gabriel Vidoni at Pepper Hamilton LLP.