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Mealey's Class Actions

  • October 18, 2018

    Judge Grants Certification Of Class For Consumer Alleging Surcharge Violated UCL

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge on Oct. 16 granted a consumer’s request for class certification of a case, in which a consumer alleges that a restaurant violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other California laws by adding a surcharge to its bills, holding that a class action was the superior method for adjudicating the dispute (Kathleen Holt v. Noble House Hotels & Resorts Ltd., No. 17-cv-2246, S.D. Calif., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145566).

  • October 18, 2018

    Mislabeled Chocolates, Defective Honda Engines, Other Complaints Hit Courts

    Recent class action lawsuits filed in federal courts across the country include complaints alleging misbranded chocolates, defective engines in Hondas, force-placed insurance policies, unwanted faxes and unlawful debt collection.

  • October 18, 2018

    11th Circuit Rejects Objectors’ Challenges To Godiva’s FACTA Settlement

    ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 3 rejected challenges filed by two objectors to a $6.3 million settlement to be paid by Godiva Chocolatier Inc. to end class claims that it printed more than five digits of customers’ credit and debit card numbers on receipts in violation of federal law (Dr. David S. Muransky, et al. v. Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., Nos. 16-16486 and 16-16783, 11th Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27980).

  • October 18, 2018

    Petition Asks 9th Circuit To Allow For Logitech Settlement

    SAN FRANCISCO — Logitech Inc. filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 9 requesting that it be allowed to settle a false advertising class lawsuit with consumers (In re Logitech Inc. v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco, No. 18-72732, 9th Cir.).

  • October 18, 2018

    9th Circuit Vacates $8.7M Attorney Award In Settlement With Credits For Class

    SAN FRANCISCO — A district court erred when it failed to treat $20 credits for class members in a settlement over a membership program enrollment and billing as coupons under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) when it came to calculating the attorney fee award, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 3, vacating an $8.7 million attorney fee award and remanding for recalculation (In re EasySaver Rewards Litigation, No. 16-56307, 9th Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 28000).

  • October 17, 2018

    Plaintiffs In Motel 6 Guest List Suit Granted More Time For Settlement

    PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge on Oct. 9 granted a motion for extension and gave the parties in a class lawsuit over guest lists being voluntarily turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by Motel 6 Operating L.P. and G6 Hospitality LLC, doing business as Motel 6, until Nov. 2 to move for preliminary approval of a class settlement (Jane V., et al. v. Motel 6 Operating L.P., et al., No. 18-242, D. Ariz.).

  • October 17, 2018

    Pennsylvania Federal Judge Denies Sanctions Request In Wage Class Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — An employer’s decision to continue requiring new employees to sign arbitration agreements, agreements that would preclude them from becoming part of a class in a pending wage-and-hour complaint, does not constitute misleading or confusing behavior, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Oct. 4, denying a motion for sanctions (Nancy Gauzza, et al. v. Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc., et al., No. 17-3599, E.D. Pa., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172159).

  • October 17, 2018

    Home Health Care Workers’ Overtime Claims Based On Regulation Changes Are Settled

    CINCINNATI — Home Care Network Inc., an employer accused of failing to change how it paid its home health care workers after the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations changed on Jan. 1, 2015, will pay $113,224.67 to settle overtime class claims, according to a settlement agreement granted final approval by an Ohio federal judge on Oct. 3 (Rhonda Dillow v. Home Care Network, Inc., et al., No. 16-612, S.D. Ohio, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170579).

  • October 17, 2018

    Employee Class Suit Alleges Domino’s Nonsolicitation Agreement Is Unlawful

    DETROIT — A former employee filed a class action suit in Michigan federal district court on Oct. 15 against franchisor Domino’s Pizza Franchising LLC and other related entities, alleging that an employee no-poach and no-hiring agreement with franchisees violated the Sherman Act, causing job-related harm to employees (Harley Blanton, et al. v. Domino’s Pizza Franchising LLC, et al., No. 2:18-cv-13207, E.D. Mich.).

  • October 17, 2018

    Settlement In Class Suit Over James Bond Box Sets Approved; Attorney Fees Slashed

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge on Oct. 16 granted final approval of a class settlement in a lawsuit over box sets of James Bond movies touted as complete even though they were actually missing two movies, but nearly halved the requested attorney fees, which would have constituted more than 93 percent of the recovery (Mary L. Johnson, et al. v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., et al., No. 17-541, W.D. Wash., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177824).

  • October 17, 2018

    Remand, Stay Granted In Invalid Nursing Home Licenses Class Suit

    TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal judge on Oct. 16 granted a motion to remand a class action lawsuit accusing a real estate broker and an individual in the senior housing industry of engaging in a scheme to market and sell 22 Florida nursing facilities they knew were operating without valid licenses; however, the judge also issued an order on the same day granting a motion to stay remand for either 70 days or the completion of any appellate remedy (The Estate of Shirley T. Cox, et al. v. Marcus & Millichap, Incorporated, et al., No. 18-381, M.D. Fla., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177224). 

  • October 17, 2018

    Purchaser Waives Challenges To Supplement Maker’s High Court Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A purchaser who alleges that he relied on false statements about heart-health when purchasing a supplement on Oct. 12 waived his right to respond to a vitamin maker’s petition for a writ of certiorari, seeking review of an appeals court ruling that reversed denial of class certification of the purchaser’s claims for violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) (Pharmavite LLC v. Noah Bradach, No. 18-449, U.S. Sup., 2018 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 3694).

  • October 16, 2018

    Class Suit Over Law School Closure Remanded; Class Definition Deemed Proper

    SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia federal judge on Oct. 12 granted a motion to remand a class complaint by students and potential students over the closure of a Georgia law school, finding that any question about diversity of citizenship is solved by the class definition limiting it to residents of Georgia (Caitlyn Cliff, et al. v. Savannah Law School, LLC, et al., No. 18-104, S.D. Ga., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176074).

  • October 16, 2018

    Federal Judge Sends Claims Against Libby, Mont., Railway Back To State Court

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana federal judge agreed with a magistrate judge on Oct. 15 and remanded to state court asbestos liability class claims against a railway that had been stayed by the bankruptcy case of W.R. Grace & Co. pursuant to the local controversy exception to federal jurisdiction (Korey L. Aarstad, et al. v. BNSF Railway Company, et al., No. 4:17-cv-72, D. Mont., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176843).

  • October 15, 2018

    Energy Company Agrees To Over $146M Settlement Of Securities Class Action Claims

    HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas should approve a more than $146 million settlement in a securities class action lawsuit against an energy company, certain of its officers and directors and others because it has met statutory and Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals standards for approval, lead plaintiffs argue in an Oct. 12 motion for preliminary approval of settlement filed in Texas federal court (In re Cobalt International Energy Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 14-3428, S.D. Texas).

  • October 15, 2018

    Prisoner Class Granted Summary Judgment On Injunctive, Declaratory Relief Claims

    TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — While the Prison Litigation Reform Act bars a court from ordering an Indiana county to build a new jail or cap the capacity at the existing jail, an Indiana federal judge on Oct. 10 granted a motion for partial summary judgment by a class of current and former inmates suing over overcrowding and poor conditions and ordered that ongoing constitutional violations at the existing jail be remedied “as quickly as possible” (Jauston Huerta, et al. v. Greg Ewing, et al., No. 16-397, S.D. Ind., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174120).

  • October 15, 2018

    3 Of 4 Subclasses Certified In Loan Officers’ Suit Alleging Off-The-Clock Work

    SEATTLE — Current and former loan officers may proceed with collective and class claims for all but one proposed subclass, a Washington federal judge ruled Oct. 10, finding that class certification requirements were met for three of four proposed subclasses in a complaint alleging that they were denied pay for off-the-clock work (Kelly Bolding, et al. v. Banner Bank, No. 17-601, W.D. Wash., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174510).

  • October 15, 2018

    Monsanto, Cancer Victim File Proposed Orders On Possible New Glyphosate Trial

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Monsanto Co. and the cancer victim who won $289,254,882.32 in damages against it related to exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, on Oct. 12 filed proposed orders in California state court arguing their respective positions regarding whether the judge in the case should order a new trial (DeWayne Johnson v. Monsanto Company, No. CGC 16550128, Calif. Super., San Francisco Co.).

  • October 12, 2018

    College’s Refusal To Hire Retirees Deemed Not Biased By 7th Circuit

    CHICAGO — An Illinois college’s decision to no longer hire retired state employees who were collecting annuities based on a change in law that imposed a penalty on covered employers did not constitute age discrimination or retaliation because the reason for the decision was one not based on age, a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 11 (Barry Dayton v. Oakton Community College, et al., No. 18-1668, 7th Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 28674).

  • October 12, 2018

    Wal-Mart Agrees To Pay $65 Million To Settle Cashier Seating Class Suit

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $65 million and launch a “Seating Pilot Program,” which will provide seating to its cashiers, to end more than nine years of litigation over the retailer’s failure to provide seats, according to a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement filed Oct. 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Nisha Brown, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., et al., No. 09-3339, N.D. Calif.).