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Mealey's Class Actions

  • September 18, 2020

    Goldman Sachs Seeks High Court Review Of Securities Class Certification Ruling

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In what they are calling "the most important securities case to come before the U.S. Supreme Court since its 2014 ruling in Halliburton Co. v. Eric P. John Fund Inc. (Halliburton II), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and three of its senior executives asked the Supreme Court on Aug. 21 to review a divided Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel's ruling upholding a federal district court's application of the inflation-maintenance theory for demonstrating price impact in granting class certification in a securities class action (Goldman Sachs Group Inc., et al. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, et al., No. 20-222, U.S. Sup.).

  • September 17, 2020

    Debt Collection Firm's Dunning Letters Violate Federal Law, Class Action Claims

    ROANOKE, Va. — A Virginia debt collection law firm violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by misrepresenting the sender in dunning letters and overstating related attorney fees and attorney involvement in subsequent lawsuits, three Virginia residents allege in a Sept. 9 class complaint filed in a federal court in Virginia (Jennifer Lord, et al. v. Senex Law, P.C., No. 20-541, W.D. Va.).

  • September 17, 2020

    2nd Circuit Finds Lack Of Jurisdiction Over 5 Appeals Of WWE Concussion Suits

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 9 ruled that it lacked appellate jurisdiction over the consolidated appeals of five cases, three of which were putative class actions, by former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) wrestlers for head injuries; four appeals were deemed untimely in light of Hall v. Hall, the fifth was found to contain time-barred claims and the appeals of sanctions orders in two of the cases were found to be not appealable as the amount of sanctions were not yet set (William Albert Haynes, III, et al. v. World Wrestling Entertainment, Incorporated, Nos. 18-3278, 18-3322, 18-3325, 18-3326, 18-3327, 18-3328 and 18-3330, 2nd Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 28606).

  • September 16, 2020

    Nonfeatured Artist's Class Certified In Case Over Unions' Payment From Royalties

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on Sept. 14 certified a class of nonfeatured song artists suing two unions and trustees over the creation of a service fee in 2013 to be paid to the unions from digital royalties for services the unions were allegedly already providing (Kevin Risto v. Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, et al., No. 18-7241, C.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168372).

  • September 16, 2020

    Protein Bar False Advertising, UCL Class Suit Survives Dismissal Motion

    SAN DIEGO — A putative class complaint accusing a protein bar maker of falsely stating nutritional facts in violation of California's unfair competition law (UCL) and other state laws may proceed because the lead plaintiff alleged economic loss, a federal judge in California ruled Sept. 10, also rejecting the bar maker's allegation of preemption (Brittany Sebastian, et al. v. ONE Brands LLC, No. 20-9, S.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166518).

  • September 16, 2020

    Bath & Body Works Wins Dismissal Of Class Suit Over No Braille Gift Cards

    NEW YORK — Gift cards don't qualify as goods that must be modified pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal judge in New York ruled Sept. 14, granting a motion to dismiss a putative class complaint filed by a New York City resident accusing Bath & Body Works LLC of discrimination by not offering Braille gift cards (Himelda Mendez v. Bath & Body Works, LLC, No. 19-9856, S.D. N.Y., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167660).

  • September 16, 2020

    Class Certification Denied For 2nd Time In Nissan Transmission Lawsuit

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a case on remand from the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after an earlier denial of class certification was reversed, a federal judge in California on Sept. 13 again denied certification of a class and subclass of consumers who allegedly purchased vehicles with faulty transmissions from Nissan North America Inc. for failure to establish typicality due to untimely claims and, in the same order, denied as moot Daubert motions to exclude expert evidence (Huu Nguyen v. Nissan North America, Inc., No. 16-5591, N.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167789).

  • September 16, 2020

    Pet Food Companies To High Court: Settled Law Was Applied In Jurisdiction Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two consumers who brought a putative class complaint over prescription pet food may disagree with the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that federal jurisdiction exists in their putative class lawsuit, but settled law was applied and there is no circuit split, two pet food companies argue in their Sept. 14 brief opposing a petition for a writ of certiorari (Anastasia Wullschleger, et al. v. Royal Canin U.S.A., Inc., et al., No. 20-152, U.S. Sup.).

  • September 16, 2020

    Business Owner's Class Suit Challenges Mask Mandate, Seeks Injunction, Damages

    LINCOLN, Neb. — The city of Lincoln, Neb., and city officials have damaged local businesses and individuals with their unlawful directive health measures (DHMs) created in response to the novel coronavirus, one business owner alleges in his complaint filed Sept. 10 class in state court challenging the mandate requiring business owners to enforce mask wearing and the threatened shutdown of those that did not (Benjamin Madsen, et al. v. Lincoln, et al., No. N/A, Neb. Dist, Lancaster Co.).

  • September 16, 2020

    Judge Dismisses All Claims In Retailer's Suit Seeking Coverage For COVID-19 Losses

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Sept. 14 dismissed without prejudice all claims in a retailer insured's class complaint against its insurer, finding that the insured is not entitled to business income, extra expense or civil authority coverage as a matter of law for its claimed losses following the state's "Stay at Home" order in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, granting the insured leave to amend because the law regarding "business interruption coverage linked to the COVID-19 pandemic is very much in development" (Mudpie, Inc. v. Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America, No. 20-03213, N.D. Calif.).

  • September 16, 2020

    Split 3rd Circuit: Trial Court Misapplied Case Law In Class Certification Ruling

    PHILADELPHIA — A trial court erred in an employee misclassification suit by holding a renewed motion for class certification to a higher standard applied to motions for reconsideration and by misapplying ascertainability case law, a split Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Sept. 9, extending Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo and Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co. to the determination of a class's ascertainabiltiy and holding that it may be proven by workers where an employer failed to keep records as required by law (Sam Hargrove, et al. v. Sleepy's LLC, No. 19-2809, 3rd Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 28501).

  • September 15, 2020

    USA Taekwondo Seeks Partial Summary Judgment In Class Sex Abuse Suit

    DENVER — USA Taekwondo Inc. (USAT) on Sept. 11 in a Colorado federal court moved for partial summary judgment in a putative class complaint by certain Team USA's Olympic taekwondo athletes who have alleged more than two decades of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking by Olympic officials, coaches and mentors, arguing that the operative third amended complaint "heavily" draws on allegations of actions by dismissed defendants, that two of the challenged counts are untimely and that the other two lack sufficient evidence (Heidi Gilbert, et al. v. USA Taekwondo, Inc., et al., No. 18-981, D. Colo.).

  • September 15, 2020

    Class Certified, Individual Relief Granted In Same-Sex Survivor Benefits Suit

    SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington on Sept. 11 adopted a magistrate judge's report and recommendation granting a claim for individual relief by a woman seeking Social Security survivor benefits based on the work history of her partner who died before same-sex marriage was legalized and certifying a class of similarly situated individuals and ordered the parties to show cause regarding the appropriate relief for the class (Helen Josephine Thornton, et al. v. Commissioner of Social Security, No. 18-1409, W.D. Wash., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166805).

  • September 15, 2020

    Split 9th Circuit Panel Vacates Preliminary Injunction In TPS Decision Class Suit

    PASADENA, Calif. — A divided Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 14 vacated a preliminary injunction barring implementation of the decision to terminate temporary protected status (TPS) designations of Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador, finding that the immigrants' Administrative Procedure Act (APA) claim in their putative class complaint is foreclosed from judicial review and that they failed to show a likelihood of success or serious questions on the merits of their equal protection claim alleging that racial animus by the president influenced the decisions (Crista Ramos, et al. v. Chad F. Wolf, et al., No. 18-16981, 9th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 29050).

  • September 14, 2020

    Uber:  1st Circuit Lacks Jurisdiction To Hear Driver's Injunctive Relief Appeal

    BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals lacks jurisdiction to hear an appeal by an Uber driver seeking reversal of a trial court's denial of preliminary injunctive relief in a putative class complaint accusing the ride share company of misclassifying its drivers, Uber Technologies Inc. and its CEO argue in a Sept. 11 answering brief (John Capriole, et al. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., et al., No. 20-1386, 1st Cir.).

  • September 14, 2020

    7-Eleven Awarded Summary Judgment In Franchisees' Misclassification Class Action

    BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts on Sept. 10 awarded summary judgment to 7-Eleven Inc. on claims brought by four franchisees who sought class certification for being misclassified as contractors rather than employees, finding that the Federal Trade Commission's regulatory regime for franchises governs over the state's independent contractor law (Dhananjay Patel, et al. v. 7-Eleven Inc., et al., No. 17-11414, D. Mass., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165057).

  • September 14, 2020

    Teachers Voluntarily Dismiss Draper James' Free Dress Offer Class Complaint

    LOS ANGELES — A group of teachers who filed a putative class complaint accusing Reese Witherspoon and her company, Draper James LLC, of offering free dresses to teachers during the novel coronavirus pandemic in exchange for providing personal information without clearly disclosing that it was a sweepstakes or lottery filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice on Sept. 11 in a federal court in California (Laryssa Galvez, et al. v. Draper James, LLC, et al., No. 20-4976, C.D. Calif.).

  • September 14, 2020

    Preliminary Injunction Granted In SNAP Recipients' Suit Over FFCRA Interpretation

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11 granted a motion for preliminary injunction filed by Pennsylvania supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) recipients who allege that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) interpretation of a portion of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), legislation created in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, has wrongly denied temporary emergency allotments of food to the poorest households in their state (Latoya Gilliam, et al. v. United States Department of Agriculture, et al., No. 20-3504, E.D. Pa., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166171).

  • September 13, 2020

    Trump Business And Family And MLM Seek Arbitration In Racketeering Appeal

    NEW YORK — Two separate reply briefs filed Sept. 8 in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, one by Donald J. Trump, the Trump Corp. and three of Trump's children and the other by a multilevel marketing company the Trump parties are accused of fraudulently endorsing, argue for reversal of a trial court's denial of arbitration in a putative class complaint containing federal racketeering and conspiracy to racketeer allegations, as well as state law claims (Jane Doe, et al. v. Trump Corporation, et al., Nos. 20-1228 and 20-1278, 2nd Cir.).

  • September 11, 2020

    Estate Of Resident Who Died Of COVID-19 Files Class Suit Against N.J. Facilities

    NEWTON, N.J. — The estate of a resident of a New Jersey long-term care facility on Sept. 8 filed a class action complaint in state court against the facility, its sister facility and their owners and operators, claiming that they violated state and federal nursing home laws and the state Consumer Fraud Act and failed to protect residents from the novel coronavirus, which has cost at least 94 residents their lives (Estate of Albert C. Roberts v. Andover Subacute Rehabilitation Center I, et al., No. SSX-L-358-20, N.J. Super., Sussex Co.).