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Mealey's Class Actions

  • June 28, 2017

    High Court Won’t Hear Appeal In Deepwater Horizon Securities Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 27 denied an investor’s petition for writ of certiorari that sought to overturn a federal district court’s dismissal of a securities class action lawsuit as time-barred against Transocean Ltd. and certain of its former executive officers stemming from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill (DeKalb County Pension Fund v. Transocean Ltd., et al., No. 16-206, U.S. Sup.).

  • June 28, 2017

    Alabama Federal Judge Finds Prisoner Class Has Been Denied Mental Health Care

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The mental health care provided to prisoners by the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) is “horrendously inadequate” and violates the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution rights of a class of prisoners, an Alabama federal judge ruled June 27 (Edward Braggs, et al. v. Jefferson S. Dunn, et al., No. 14-601, M.D. Ala., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98755).

  • June 28, 2017

    Florida Federal Judge: No Potential Opt-Ins Means No Uber Driver Collective

    MIAMI — A lead plaintiff’s failure to show that there are any potential opt-in plaintiffs is fatal to his motion for certification of a misclassification collective action, a Florida federal judge ruled June 27 (Sebastian A. Rojas v. Uber Technologies, Inc., et al., No. 16-23670, S.D. Fla., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98716).

  • June 28, 2017

    U.S. Supreme Court To Hear SLUSA Jurisdictional Provisions Appeal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 27 agreed to hear an appeal of a California Superior Court ruling that shareholders in a securities class action are not preempted from bringing their claims under the Securities Act of 1933 by the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA) (Cyan Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, et al., No. 15-1439, U.S. Sup.).

  • June 27, 2017

    3rd Circuit Panel Affirms Denial Of Severance Claims As Not Arbitrary, Capricious

    PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 21 affirmed summary judgment in a case in which refinery workers were denied severance benefits, saying that a Pennsylvania federal judge correctly ruled that a plan administrator’s denial of benefits was neither arbitrary nor capricious and was warranted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Paul Felker, et al. v. USW Local 10-901, et al., No. 16-3064, 3rd Cir., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 10982).

  • June 26, 2017

    Anthem Data Breach Class Seeks Preliminary Approval Of $115 Million Settlement

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — After more than two years of litigation, including two partial dismissal rulings, the plaintiffs suing Anthem Inc. over a 2015 data breach filed a motion in California federal court June 23, seeking preliminary approval of a settlement with the insurer that would establish a $115 million settlement fund and maintain credit-monitoring services (In Re:  Anthem Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 5:15-md-02617, N.D. Calif.).

  • June 27, 2017

    California Federal Judge Finds Wage Claims Exceed $12M, Denies Remand

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California federal judge on June 22 denied a motion to remand a wage-and-hour class complaint seeking, in part, unpaid compensation for missed meal and rest breaks, finding that the amount in controversy exceeds $12 million (Belen Torrez, et al. v. Freedom Mortgage, Corp., et al., No. 17-867, C.D. Calif., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97704).

  • June 27, 2017

    Colgate-Palmolive Whitening Claims Class Suit Stayed Pending FTC Investigation

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on June 23 denied a motion to dismiss a class suit accusing Colgate-Palmolive Co. of false labeling claims on its whitening toothpaste but agreed to stay the case until an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission is concluded (Lori Canale, et al. v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., No. 16-3308, S.D. N.Y., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97506).

  • June 26, 2017

    Nationwide Class Sought For Purchasers Of INRatio Testing Device

    SAN DIEGO — Seven plaintiffs on June 21 moved for certification of a national class of people who paid for the recalled INRatio blood-clot-testing devices made by Alere Inc. (Dina Andren, et al. v. Alere, Inc., et al., No. 16-1255, S.D. Calif.).

  • June 26, 2017

    Split High Court: American Pipe Doesn’t Extend Shareholders’ Filing Limits

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A securities class action lawsuit filed by shareholders after opting out of a settlement class against the same defendants was untimely and properly dismissed, a split U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 26, finding that American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah, 414 U.S. 538 (1974), did not expand the three-year period allowed for in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which was found to be a statute of repose (California Public Employees’ Retirement System v. Moody Investors Service Inc., et al., No. 16-373, U.S. Sup.).

  • June 26, 2017

    Federal Judge Lets VW Franchise Dealers File Amended Complaint Against Bosch

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Jan. 23 denied a motion by Robert Bosch GmbH and Robert Bosch LLC to dismiss Volkswagen-branded franchise dealers’ amended and consolidated class action complaint alleging that the Bosch defendants helped the automaker develop the “defeat devices” installed in VW diesel engine vehicles to evade U.S. emissions regulations and gave the dealers leave to amend their complaint by July 24 to “address the identified shortcomings” (In re:  Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2672, N.D. Calif., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97767).

  • June 23, 2017

    9th Circuit: Japanese Nuclear Reactor Radiation Case May Proceed In U.S. Court

    SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 22 ruled that a radiation exposure lawsuit brought by U.S. Navy sailors who assisted in relief efforts when the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) melted down in Japan could proceed in a U.S. court, despite the company’s argument to the contrary (Lindsay R. Cooper, et al. v. Tokyo Electric Power Company, et al., No. 15-56424, 9th Cir.; 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 11075).

  • June 23, 2017

    New York Federal Judge Dismisses ERISA Lawsuit Over Excessive Advice Fees

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on June 21 dismissed an Employee Retirement Income Security Act putative class action that alleged that a record keeper’s advice arrangement constituted a breach of fiduciary duty resulting in excessive fees, saying that the plaintiff failed to allege facts showing that the defendants were ERISA fiduciaries with respect to their fees (Lisa Patrico v. Voya Financial Inc., et al., No. 16-cv-7070, S.D. N.Y., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95735).

  • June 22, 2017

    Massachusetts Federal Judge Dismisses Remaining Claims In ERISA Class Action

    BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on June 19 dismissed the remaining claims in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action, saying that the plaintiffs have failed to show that the defendants breached their duties of loyalty and prudence and failed to make a prima facie showing of loss (John Brotherston, et al. v. Putnam Investments LLC, et al., No. 1:15-cv-13825, D. Mass., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93654).

  • June 22, 2017

    Oklahoma Top Court: No Preemption Where ERISA Plan Is ‘Factual Backdrop’

    OKLAHOMA CITY — On remand, a trial court must consider whether a woman’s class action claiming that a hospital improperly sought collection from her in violation of its contract with her insurer invokes an Employee Retirement Income Security Act plan or whether the plan is merely part of the “factual backdrop” of the case, a divided Oklahoma Supreme Court held June 21 (Elizabeth Cates v. INTEGRIS Health Inc., No. 114314, Okla. Sup., 2017 Okla. LEXIS 53).

  • June 22, 2017

    Massachusetts Federal Judge Grants Summary Judgment To Fidelity Management Trust

    BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on June 19 granted Fidelity Management Trust Co.’s motion for summary judgment in a class action alleging that Fidelity breached its fiduciary duties pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by mismanaging the Fidelity Group Employee Benefit Plan Managed Income Portfolio Comingled Pool (MIP), saying the plaintiffs did not carry their burden to establish a fiduciary breach (John Ellis, et al. v. Fidelity Management Trust Co., No 1:15-14128, D. Mass., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93656).

  • June 22, 2017

    Fraud, Unfair Competition, Junk Faxes, Other Complaints Hit Courts

    Recent class action lawsuits filed in federal and state courts across the country include complaints alleging overcharging for medical records, failure to abide by rent stabilization laws, Fair Housing Act violations, the practice of sending unsolicited faxed advertisements and wage-and-hour violations.

  • June 22, 2017

    Brooks Brothers Sued By Customer Class Following Data Breach

    LOS ANGELES — Brooks Brothers Group Inc. failed to take necessary measures to protect customers’ personal data, including credit card numbers, exposing those customers to identity theft, a California man claims in his June 9 class complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Scott Ables, et al. v. Brooks Brothers Group, Inc., No. 17-4309, C.D. Calif.).

  • June 22, 2017

    Summary Judgment, Conditional Certification Denied In Attorney’s Bias Suit

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on June 14 denied numerous motions in a gender bias suit brought by a former Chadbourne & Parke LLP partner, including one for summary judgment and one for conditional certification of a collective action under the Equal Pay Act, finding that additional discovery must occur (Kerrie Campbell, et al. v. Chadbourne & Parke LLP, et al., No. 16-6832, S.D. N.Y., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91289).

  • June 22, 2017

    Caribou Coffee To Pay $8.5 Million To Settle TCPA Class Suit

    MADISON, Wis. — Plaintiffs suing Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. for sending unsolicited text message advertisements moved June 13 in a Wisconsin federal court for preliminary approval of an $8.5 million settlement (Kristie Farnham, et al. v. Caribou Coffee Company, Inc., No. 16-295, W.D. Wis.).