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

Mealey's Class Actions

February 07, 2024
Mandate Withheld In Appeal Over Big ERISA Class; Rehearing Bid Remains

NEW ORLEANS — Mandate issuance was withheld Feb. 6 in a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals case where a panel upheld certification of a large multiplan class and a petition for rehearing en banc that drew an amicus curiae brief has been pending for months.
February 06, 2024
Fiduciaries Want To Appeal 9th Circuit Ruling In ERISA Prohibited Transaction Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Retirement plan fiduciaries were given a March 7 deadline to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of a ruling concerning the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s prohibited transaction provision after arguing that the ruling involves a circuit split, is not consistent with Lockheed Corp. v. Spink and “threatens serious practical consequences for plan administration.”
February 06, 2024
$3.8M Settlement For Class Of More Than 30,000 Gets Initial OK In ERISA Row

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge on Feb. 5 granted a motion by former participants in a 403(b) retirement plan for preliminary approval of a $3.8 million class settlement that would resolve allegations of imprudence regarding record-keeping fees and share classes.
February 06, 2024
9th Circuit Panel Rules PREP Act Immunity Extends To State Vaccine Prioritization

SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in related appeals reversed an Oregon federal court decision denying the motions to dismiss of Oregon’s governor and other state officials in a class action by prison inmates seeking damages for alleged constitutional violations resulting from the officials’ decision to prioritize COVID-19 vaccination for prison workers over the inmates.
February 06, 2024
ERISA Fiduciary Breach Claims Asserted Over J&J Drug Plan That Used PBM

CAMDEN, N.J. — Calling herself a “whistleblower” and asserting fiduciary breach claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, an employee on Feb. 5 filed a putative class case against Johnson and Johnson (J&J) and related entities and individuals over alleged “mismanagement of prescription-drug benefits” involving a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM).
February 06, 2024
IPhone Owners’ Experts Deemed Reliable; Antitrust Class Against Apple Certified

SAN FRANCISCO — Almost two years after a group of iPhone owners’ first attempt at class certification was denied, a California federal judge found that they had cured deficiencies in their experts’ testimony, leading her to conclude that the plaintiffs had now satisfied the predominance requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), making class certification appropriate in an antitrust lawsuit against Apple Inc.
February 06, 2024
Objectors To 6th Circuit: Reverse Approval Of Vaccine Mandate Settlement

CINCINNATI — Objectors to a $130,000 nationwide settlement in a class case by hospital employees who challenged their employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy filed an appellant brief in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals challenging the amount as inadequate and arguing that the agreement was not sufficiently scrutinized given that “the case did not involve the assertion of nationwide class claims at the time settlement was agreed to and submitted for approval.”
February 05, 2024
Keller Williams’ $70M Pact In Sellers’ Commissions Case Preliminarily Approved

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A $70 million settlement proposed by Keller Williams Realty Inc. in a class case by home sellers in which a federal jury in Missouri found that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and real estate franchisors engaged in a commission conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act was granted preliminary approval by a federal judge in Missouri; on the same day, a joint motion to stay in light of the settlement was filed in a parallel action in a federal court in Illinois.
February 05, 2024
$7.5M Would End ERISA Row Over Proprietary Trusts Under Global Proposal

FLORENCE, S.C. — A South Carolina federal court that rejected a $4.5 million class settlement with one defendant has now been asked to approve a $7.5 million global deal, with all parties signing on to a Feb. 2 motion for preliminary settlement approval in the suit over a retirement plan’s use of proprietary collective investment trusts (CITs).
February 05, 2024
Judge Partially Dismisses African American’s AI Hiring Discrimination Case

SAN FRANCISCO — A man alleging that a company’s artificial intelligence discriminates in hiring practices sufficiently shows that an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge intermingles disparate impact and intentional discrimination issues in a way that constitutes administrative exhaustion for the purposes of the latter claim, but there are insufficient allegations that the defendant acted as an employment agency for the places at which he applied or enjoys control over the employment processes, a federal judge said in partially granting a motion to dismiss.
February 02, 2024
Judge Limits Experts, Certifies Class Action For Deceptive ChapStick Label Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a motion to certify a class action asserting California unfair competition law (UCL) violations for deceptive labeling of certain ChapStick products and agreed to exclude dueling experts after finding their testimony irrelevant.
February 02, 2024
Federal Judge Approves Class Settlement Of Energy Drink Securities Dispute

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — After conducting a fairness hearing, a federal judge in Florida on Feb. 1 approved a $7.9 million class action settlement in a case brought by shareholders who claimed that energy drink manufacturer Celsius Holdings Inc. fraudulently accounted for stock options to former employees.
February 02, 2024
Mo. Federal Judge: State Law Claims Arising From Nuclear Incident Are Preempted

ST. LOUIS — In light of a recent Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals opinion, a Missouri federal judge found Feb. 1 that state law claims arising from alleged property damage caused by nuclear waste at two landfills must be dismissed because they are preempted by the Price-Anderson Act (PAA).
February 02, 2024
$2M Deal Gets Preliminary OK In ERISA Case Against Georgia Health System

COLUMBUS, Ga. — A Georgia federal judge on Feb. 1 granted preliminary approval to a deal in which a $2 million payment would settle a class action involving the investment decisions and administrative costs of a terminated retirement plan.
February 01, 2024
$9.75M Settlement With Monitoring Boost Gets Final OK In ERISA Imprudence Row

BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge has granted final approval of a class settlement including a $9.75 million payment and a boost to monitoring processes for investments and service providers in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case over fiduciaries’ allegedly imprudent fund choices.
February 01, 2024
11th Circuit Sets Argument In ERISA Fees, Funds Row Involving Burden Shifting

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has set oral argument for March 28 in an appeal that seeks to revive a class action over retirement plan fees and funds and that has drawn amicus input from the U.S. secretary of Labor and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America on the issue of burden shifting.
February 01, 2024
Flint Plaintiffs Seek Final Approval Of $8M Settlement With 3 Engineering Firms

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation have filed a brief in Michigan federal court seeking final approval of an $8 million class settlement with three firms that provided engineering and consulting services to the city of Flint in its decision to switch its water supply to the Flint River, a move that precipitated the lead contamination of the city’s drinking water.
February 01, 2024
Accounting Denied As To Disputed $185 Million Attorney Fees In Insurers’ ACA Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge denied in part objecting class members’ motion for an accounting of a vacated $185 million attorney fee award in suits filed by insurers, some of which are insolvent, over risk-corridor payments under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), finding that because the court has not yet considered a renewed fee request, the accounting is unnecessary at this time.
January 31, 2024
Classes Certified In Case Over Indiana’s Ban On Gender Transitions For Minors

INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge in Indiana granted a motion to certify three classes and two subclasses in a case alleging that the state’s ban on providing gender transition procedures to minors violates the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws.
January 31, 2024
Visa, Mastercard Ask U.S. High Court To Decide ATM Fees Case Class Certification

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Visa and Mastercard filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the justices to decide whether three classes were properly certified in an antitrust case against the network operators over access fee rules they impose on automated teller machine (ATM) operators.
January 31, 2024
Hawaii Female Student Athletes Seek Attorney Fees, Final OK Of Title IX Settlement

HONOLULU — Female students from an Ewa Beach, Hawaii, high school filed documents in a federal court in their state arguing that they are entitled to attorney fees and seeking final approval of a class settlement between them, the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) and the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) in a case accusing DOE and OIA of violating Title IX of the Education Amendments Act by putting “boys first” and providing boys with better athletic programs and facilities than girls.
January 31, 2024
Investors Do Not Show Company Misled About Equipment Testing, Federal Judge Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — Finding that investors failed to show that a technology company made false or misleading statements about its testing of manufacturing equipment it would use to create a new type of battery, a federal judge in California on Jan. 30 dismissed the investors’ putative class complaint without prejudice.
January 31, 2024
Drilling Companies Deny Claims In Mineral Rights Case, Say Standing Is Lacking

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Drilling companies filed an answer in Ohio federal court on Jan. 30 in a mineral rights dispute, denying claims brought by mineral rights holders who contend that they breached the royalty agreement between the parties. The companies also assert affirmative defenses, including that the action is barred due to lack of standing.
January 31, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek Approval Of PFAS Class Settlement Worth More Than $1.36 Million

TRENTON, N.J. — Plaintiffs alleging contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have filed a brief in New Jersey federal court supporting a settlement of their lawsuit against the defendant chemical companies that would pay a combined $1,367,975 to three settlement classes, saying the proposed agreement “readily passes muster for its preliminary approval.”
January 31, 2024
$20M Michigan Unemployment Fraud Class Settlement Approved By State Judge

LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan judge granted final approval of a $20 million class settlement in a case by unemployment recipients who accused the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (MUIA) of wrongfully flagging them as having committed unemployment fraud, the Michigan attorney general announced Jan. 30.