Mealey's Class Actions : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Class Actions

April 09, 2024
After Summary Judgment In ERISA Fees Case, Defendants File Bill Of Costs For ESI

DES MOINES, Iowa — After an Iowa federal judge granted summary judgment against a class of 401(k) participants in a dispute over record-keeping fees, grocery chain Hy-Vee Inc. and related defendants filed a bill of costs seeking $53,319.87 in taxable costs, including $40,232.83 for discovery of electronically stored information (ESI).
April 08, 2024
Driver Appeals Grant Of Summary Judgment On UCL Claim For ‘Unfair’ COVID Premiums

SAN FRANCISCO — A driver on April 5 appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a California federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of GEICO after finding that it did not violate California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by unfairly profiting from a premium giveback program initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 08, 2024
Water District: Appeal Of AFFF Deal Valid, Claim About Motive ‘Inflammatory’

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A California water district has filed a brief in South Carolina federal court denying what it calls an “inflammatory charge” against it leveled by class counsel in the multidistrict litigation for the firefighting substance aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) who seek an appeal bond from the water district related to its decision to appeal the court’s approval of a $1.18 billion class settlement between plaintiffs and E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination from AFFF.
April 08, 2024
High Court’s Review Sought For 5th Circuit ERISA Prohibited Transaction Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of a decision involving what constitutes a prohibited transaction, a dental office and the 401(k) plan it sponsors present the case as a good vehicle “for resolving multiple circuit splits and providing much needed clarity on important and often dispositive issues of law arising from service relationships between [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] plans and their providers.”
April 08, 2024
State Consumer Protection Claim Against Mortgage Subservicer Survives Dismissal

NORFOLK, Va. — A couple may proceed with a fraud-based claim under the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (WVCCPA) in a putative class complaint accusing a mortgage subservicer of overcharging interest by incorrectly applying prepayments as that state law provides “‘an avenue of relief’” based on violations of Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) servicing guidelines, a federal judge in Virginia ruled partially denying the subservicer’s motion to dismiss.
April 08, 2024
Judge Allows Some Claims In ACA Hearing Loss Proxy Discrimination Case

SEATTLE — Proxy discrimination and injunctive relief claims based on exclusions or limitations in health insurance coverage for hearing aids that allegedly targeted people with disabilities in violation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) may proceed, but other claims appear to be barred by state law, a federal judge in Washington said in partially granting a motion to dismiss.
April 08, 2024
ACA Fertility Discrimination Claims Survive Dismissal, Federal Judge Says

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A woman who claims that an insurer’s policy on what constitutes infertility discriminates against non-heterosexual individuals assigned female at birth enjoys standing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but since she no longer participates in the plan, she cannot proceed on a declaratory relief claim, a federal judge in Connecticut said in partly granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
April 08, 2024
Another Set Of Retirees Challenges AT&T Pension Risk Transfer Under ERISA

BOSTON — A second set of retirees has filed a putative class case in Massachusetts federal court challenging a May 2023 AT&T pension risk transfer (PRT) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
April 05, 2024
8th Circuit Argument Set In ERISA Imprudence Dispute Over Pleading Standard

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has set oral argument for April 9 in retirement plan participants’ bid to revive their dismissed Employee Retirement Income Security Act case, with the key issue being whether the pleading standard in Matousek v. MidAmerican Energy Co. was met.
April 05, 2024
Bench Trial Results In Class Win In ERISA Suit Over Retirement Plan Conversion

HOUSTON — Following a bench trial in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over the 1989 conversion of a retirement plan, a Texas federal judge has found that the plaintiffs “are entitled to equitable relief” in an amount yet to be determined.
April 05, 2024
Defendants Win Dismissal Of ERISA Suit That Followed $30.9M Class Settlement

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A Massachusetts federal judge has granted dismissal of a follow-up Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over retirement plan fees and proprietary funds, ruling in part that the class settlement of the prior case limits the claims.
April 04, 2024
Following Stipulation, Judge Dismisses 1 Defendant In Camp Lejeune Phone Call Case

WHEELING, W.Va. — Following a stipulation by the plaintiff, a federal judge in West Virginia on April 3 issued an order dismissing with prejudice the plaintiff’s claims against one of the law firm defendants in her case alleging that multiple parties engaged in illegal phone calls soliciting clients for mass tort cases relating to toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune. Her claims against the other defendants remain pending.
April 04, 2024
1 Arbitration Motion Deemed Withdrawn In Commission Case After Settlement

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois ruled that one motion to compel arbitration by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and three real estate franchisors in a class lawsuit over broker commissions was voluntarily withdrawn and terminated but that two others remain live following the filing of the parties’ joint status report requested by the judge after NAR announced that it will resolve nationwide claims for $418 million.
April 04, 2024
Amici To High Court: Homelessness Shouldn’t Be Punished With No Camping Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ordinances barring public camping “unlawfully target and punish socially stigmatized people based on their status” and constitute “cruel and unusual publishment” in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and other groups argue in an amicus curiae brief filed April 3 in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of arguments by the class representatives for homeless individuals who sued over such an ordinance passed by a city in Oregon.
April 04, 2024
Lead Plaintiff Is Appointed In Suit Over Alleged Securities Violations

NEW YORK — An investor who alleges that he lost approximately $56,250 due to stock declines after a Bermuda-based insurance holding company reported an error involving the reinstatement premium for a specialty casualty reinsurance treaty has been appointed lead plaintiff of a putative class action under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
April 04, 2024
In Faulty Roofing Dispute, Kansas Federal Judge Rules On 2 Motions

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In two separate orders filed the same day, a Kansas federal judge partly granted a motion for summary judgment and denied a motion for class certification in a dispute brought by a group of property owners against a roofing manufacturer over the company’s allegedly faulty shingles.
April 04, 2024
JMOL Denied, Settlements Granted Preliminary OK In Chicken Price-Fixing Case

CHICAGO — In a pair of orders, a federal judge in Illinois denied a motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) or, alternatively, a new trial filed by direct-purchaser plaintiffs (DPPs) accusing broiler sellers of fixing the prices for chicken and granted preliminary approval of settlements between the DPPs and seven sellers under which each party agrees to cease all litigation activities against the other.
April 04, 2024
United Customers Denied Class Certification In Pandemic Flight Cancellation Case

CHICAGO — Certification of a class of United Airlines Inc. customers who sued for refunds rather than credits for travel canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic is inappropriate based on the necessary “individualized factual inquiries as to each class member’s itinerary, which could include over 200,000 such inquiries,” a federal judge in Illinois ruled in an opinion that also denied a motion to exclude expert testimony relevant to class certification and instructed parties to file a joint status report concerning a pending motion for summary judgment.
April 03, 2024
Google, Privacy Plaintiffs Propose Injunctive Relief To Settle Data-Tracking Suit

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Leapfrogging over the typical procedure of seeking preliminary approval of a proposed class action settlement over Google LLC’s purported tracking of users’ internet browsing activity and data, the named plaintiffs filed a motion in California federal court seeking final approval of a “groundbreaking” agreement under which the technology giant pledges to make changes to its data collection and retention practices, among other things.
April 03, 2024
Judge Preliminarily Approves $350M Settlement In Securities Suit Against Google

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted preliminary approval to a $350 million settlement of a putative class complaint filed by investors in Google LLC and its parent company Alphabet Inc. who claimed that the companies issued false statements about the safety of the now defunct Google+ social media platform.
April 03, 2024
Class BIPA Case Over Truck Driver Monitoring Products Survives Dismissal Motion

CHICAGO — A putative class complaint alleging that a technology company that supplies truck driver monitoring products, including a camera device that uses artificial intelligence to track driver behavior, violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by collecting data may proceed as the company in its motion to dismiss failed to show a lack of personal jurisdiction or that the facial-geometry scans are not “biometric identifiers” under BIPA, a federal judge in Illinois ruled.
April 03, 2024
T-Mobile May Appeal Dismissal Denial In Consumers’ Merger Antitrust Suit

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted a motion by T-Mobile US Inc. to certify for interlocutory appeal a November order denying T-Mobile’s request for dismissal from an antitrust putative class complaint by wireless consumers over the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint.
April 03, 2024
Class Settlement Wins Final Approval In ERISA Annuity Calculation Case

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin federal judge has granted final approval to a class action settlement with an estimated present value of $900,000 in a suit over claims that married retirees and beneficiaries were “shortchanged” by pension benefits calculated using allegedly outdated mortality and interest rate assumptions.
April 03, 2024
After Bench Trial, Final Judgment Entered Against Class In ERISA Imprudence Case

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Despite the plaintiffs’ objection to wording regarding costs, a California federal judge entered final judgment for the prevailing retirement plan sponsor, investment manager and investment adviser on all claims essentially as they proposed after a nine-day bench trial that resolved the remaining claims in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over proprietary target date funds (TDFs).
April 03, 2024
Chili’s Customers: Class Damages Methodology Review Not Needed In Data Breach Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court does not need to review a question presented by a restaurant chain owner in a data breach case concerning the damages methodology used by the certified classes’ expert as the underlying decision doesn’t present the question Brinker International Inc. seeks to resolve, restaurant customers argue in their respondent brief.