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Class Action
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May 16, 2012
Judge Says Brinker Shuts Out Meal Break Timing Class
A California judge on Friday refused to certify a class of workers accusing a nursing facilities chain of failing to provide timely meal breaks to employees working double shifts, citing the state Supreme Court's recent decision in Brinker International Inc. v. Superior Court.
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May 16, 2012
H&R Tax Students Who Skipped Class Fail In Cert. Bid
A California judge Wednesday refused to certify a class of 12,000 consumers who say H&R Block Tax Services Inc. should have refunded up to $4 million after they failed to attend prepaid tax-preparation courses, saying plaintiff Jennifer Alvord’s claims aren’t typical of the requested class.
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May 16, 2012
EEOC Says Ruling Validates Its Investigation Tactics
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday touted a recent ruling upholding a disability discrimination case against a towing company as support for its authority to sue on behalf of unidentified class members, signaling it won't back down from its controversial investigation methods anytime soon.
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May 16, 2012
Live Nation Settles Concert Ticket Antitrust MDL
Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Clear Channel Communications Inc. on Tuesday settled with plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation that incorporates 22 antitrust class actions, two months after a California federal judge threw out two of the actions for relying on outdated data.
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May 16, 2012
Repsol Hits Argentina With US Class Action In YPF Fight
Spanish oil giant Repsol YPF SA hit Argentina with a proposed class action in New York federal court Tuesday, claiming the country violated shareholder agreements when it nationalized the company's Argentine operation YPF earlier this month.
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May 16, 2012
Suits Over JPMorgan's $2B Loss Could Haunt Bank: Experts
JPMorgan Chase & Co. investors hit the bank with securities fraud class actions this week over its $2 billion loss in a botched hedging strategy, and legal experts say the potential damages to both the bank’s bottom line and reputation could be significant.
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May 16, 2012
EA Fumbles In Bid To Dismiss NCAA Likeness Suit
A California federal judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss claims against Electronic Arts Inc. in antitrust multidistrict litigation that accuses it of conspiring to deprive former college athletes of compensation for the use of their likenesses in video games.
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May 16, 2012
Dunkin' Depositions Get Morgan & Morgan Axed From OT Suit
Morgan & Morgan PA and an attorney who used a drawing of male genitalia to describe opposing counsel and conducted depositions in a doughnut shop were disqualified Wednesday from a wage class action after a Florida federal judge found the suit had been irreparably damaged by his conduct.
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May 16, 2012
2 LG Employees Can't Testify In LCD Price-Fixing Trial
Toshiba Corp. convinced a California federal judge Tuesday to block two LG Display Co. Ltd. employees from testifying for direct purchasers in the upcoming liquid crystal display price-fixing trial, but failed to win permission to use testimony presented in the AU Optronics Corp. criminal case.
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May 16, 2012
Cox Ties Set-Top Boxes To Cable Service, Suit Claims
Cox Communications Inc. was hit Monday with a potential class action by a subscriber who says the Cleveland-based cable company is violating state and federal antitrust laws by requiring premium cable subscribers to rent a separate digital receiver known as a set-top box.
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May 16, 2012
Prudential Policies Useless, Defense Contractor Workers Claim
A proposed class of former defense contractor employees sued their employers and Prudential Insurance Co. of America in New Jersey federal court Monday, accusing the companies of selling them policies it knew they couldn't use because of a wartime exclusion.
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May 16, 2012
Judge Allows Bigger Class In Merrill Race Bias Suit
An Illinois federal judge ruled Wednesday that former employees should be included in a proposed class of black Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. financial advisers suing the Bank of America Corp. unit for discrimination, shooting down the defendant's attempt to limit the class to current employees only.
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May 16, 2012
Hedge Fund Hit With $800M Suit Over Inflated Valuations
An offshore hedge fund that went bust after its now-indicted manager allegedly conspired to overvalue its holdings was hit with a proposed class action Monday in New York by investors seeking to recoup $800 million in losses.
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May 16, 2012
Nationwide Class Certified In PNC Bank Overdraft Charge MDL
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday certified a nationwide class and 11 regional subclasses of account holders in a suit against PNC Bank NA alleging the company used a computer software scheme to illegally collect hundreds of millions of dollars in excessive overdraft fees.
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May 16, 2012
3rd Circ. Scraps 2 Schering Off-Label Marketing Actions
The Third Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive two putative class actions alleging former pharmaceutical giant Schering-Plough Corp. marketed off-label uses for certain drugs, saying the suits both failed to allege a link between the company's marketing and any actual injuries.
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May 16, 2012
Rothstein Kass Gets OK For $1.4M Ponzi Suit Settlement
A California federal judge on Wednesday approved most of a $1.4 million settlement between auditing firm Rothstein Kass & Co. PC and a class of investors over hedge fund investments in Ponzi schemes run by Thomas J. Petters and Bernie Madoff.
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May 16, 2012
Silver Manipulation May Have Just Been 'Hedging': JPMorgan
JPMorgan Chase & Co. told a New York federal judge Wednesday its large bet against silver during the financial crisis may have amounted to simple hedging, denying putative class action claims that it sought to manipulate the market and reap outsize profits.
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May 16, 2012
Jenny Craig OT Suit Going To Arbitration Post-Concepcion
The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion ruling struck a major blow Tuesday to a proposed overtime class action against Jenny Craig Inc. when a California federal judge said the decision forces most employees’ claims into arbitration.
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May 16, 2012
Kansas' Take On Leegin Shows Risks Of Vertical Price Deals
The Kansas Supreme Court's recent decision that resale price maintenance agreements are illegal under state law highlights the need for national manufacturers to tread cautiously when setting pricing policies with their distributors and retailers, even in states that previously seemed safe for vertical agreements, experts say.
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May 16, 2012
Funeral Provider Looks To Bury Missouri Under Litigation
A preneed funeral contract provider caught up in an insurance fraud scandal took aim at Missouri on Tuesday, claiming that the state should be the one held legally responsible for an alleged scheme that cost consumers and funeral homes $600 million.
Expert Analysis
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Rethinking Common Wisdom Of 'Wage And Hour' Insurance
Although the best strategy to avoid a devastating wage and hour class action is to carefully review your employment practices with a qualified attorney, an often overlooked component of a company’s protection from the financial consequences of such a claim is its insurance policies, say Barry Buchman, Kami Quinn and Jason Rubinstein of Gilbert LLP.
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Consumer Class Action Waivers Post-Concepcion
Plaintiffs have attempted to argue that certain state laws that prohibit the enforcement of consumer arbitration agreements are different either substantively or procedurally from the California law preempted in Concepcion. The Ninth Circuit recently issued two opinions that shut the door on these arguments and provide businesses with significant guidance on how broadly they can write and enforce consumer arbitration agreements, says Christopher Ruhland of Dechert LLP.
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Using Federal Antitrust Law To Void Class Action Waivers
Following the Second Circuit's decision in In re American Express Merchants’ Litigation, class action arbitration waivers may be voidable if the plaintiffs can show that the enforcement of those waivers will strip them of their federal statutory rights under the Sherman Act, say Michael Christian and Demetrius Lambrinos of Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP.
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I Know What You Watched Last Summer
The Video Privacy Protection Act has generated numerous putative class actions of late. While video rental service providers have been successful in defeating claims brought on the basis of retention of consumers' personally identifiable information alone, these cases are a reminder for potential defendants to review their record retention policies, say attorneys with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
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Weathering Management Conflicts In Acquisitions
Two recent Delaware Chancery Court decisions — In re El Paso Corp. Shareholders Litigation and In re Delphi Financial Group Shareholder Litigation — counsel vigilance in policing potential management conflicts in acquisitions, but both may have practical significance only when there are other, competitive bidders in the mix, say Michael Gass and Jennifer Tracy of Choate Hall & Stewart LLP.
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Where Rubber Hits Road: Examples Of Alternative Fees
Creating new approaches to fee agreements is something to embrace rather than fear — and when structured and managed correctly, it can be financially advantageous. Take, for example, fixed-fee arrangements, result-based billing and portfolio billing, say Bill Rudnick and Keith Maziarek of DLA Piper.
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Pros And Cons Of SLCs
Shareholder litigation committees offer a powerful and effective response for any company facing a shareholder derivative lawsuit. Properly formed, they may allow the company to determine for itself how those claims should be handled. SLCs, however, are not without their costs and potential drawbacks, says Patrick Rooney of Fafinski Mark & Johnson PA.
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Predictive Coding — Putting The Cart Before The Horse
Many providers and pundits may focus on the Kleen Products LLC v. Packaging Corporation of America case currently pending in Illinois as proof of either judicial acceptance or rejection of predictive coding. But the need for parties to act reasonably in litigation and e-discovery trumps any debate over the use of new technologies, says Christina Zachariason of Navigant Consulting Inc.
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Should You Settle With The FTC In A Section 5 Case?
While Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act itself does not create a private right of action, the underlying conduct may be actionable under state unfair competition laws, or may lend itself to a creative application of other federal antitrust statutes. It is important to inform clients of the full range of potential effects of entering into a Section 5 consent decree involving anti-competitive behavior and to take steps to manage collateral risks, says Michael Wise of Paul Hastings LLP.
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The Perils Of Exchanging Wage Information
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently issued a decision in Cason-Merenda v. Detroit Medical Center which demonstrates that the methods by which employers gather wage information can create serious liability risks even when there is no intent to suppress wages and the only purpose for gathering the information is to unilaterally determine wage rates, say attorneys with Seyfarth Shaw LLP.