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

Mealey's Class Actions

April 03, 2024
Rehearing Sought After 1st Circuit Finds Mass. Law Bars Pandemic Closure Suit

BOSTON — Students who brought a class complaint against the trustees of Boston University (BU) for allegedly breaching the promise of in-person instruction and services after the school transitioned to online learning in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic filed a petition for panel or en banc rehearing after the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the retroactive application of a Massachusetts law signed into effect in August 2022 that bars such lawsuits does not violate the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution.
April 03, 2024
Homeless Residents: City’s Camping Law Is Cruel, Class Should Be Undisturbed

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Oregon’s city’s public camping ordinance constitutes cruel and unusual publishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and there is no basis for disturbing certification of a class of individuals challenging the ordinance as the city did not seek to have the U.S. Supreme Court review that determination, the class representatives argue in their respondent brief.
April 02, 2024
Judge Grants Final Approval To $12.5B PFAS Settlement Between 3M, Water Providers

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina has given final approval to a $12.5 billion class action settlement between 3M Co. and water providers who sued the company alleging that it was liable for contamination of drinking water with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In the order, the judge said that objections to the deal raised by the Ojibwe Tribe of Native Americans had been addressed.
April 02, 2024
Judge Grants Summary Judgment In Favor Of Baby Food Maker In Heavy Metals Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a baby food maker’s motion for summary judgment on class action claims against it for allegedly concealing the presence of heavy metals in its “organic” baby food products in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and consumer protection laws of several other states.
April 02, 2024
HP’s $18M Age Bias Class, Collective Settlement Granted Final Approval

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted final approval of an $18 million settlement to be paid by HP Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co. (together, HP) to end a collective and class complaint accusing the technology company of terminating older workers during workforce reductions and replacing them with younger employees in violation of federal and California law, including California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
April 02, 2024
Judge Agrees To Partial Seal In Class Suit Over States’ Understaffed Nursing Homes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge granted in part plaintiffs’ motion to conditionally file under seal in a consolidated putative class action against nursing home facilities claiming that understaffing resulted in residents receiving inadequate services, finding that specified exhibits with residents’ personally identifying information must be sealed but that plaintiffs must file a version of the class certification memo “redacting only the personally identifiable information” of residents’ family members.
April 02, 2024
Microsoft, ChatGPT Say Class Suit’s UCL, Privacy Claims Over ChatGPT Training Fail

SAN FRANCISCO — Imposing liability on companies that used information posted to the internet by “hundreds of millions of Americans” to train artificial intelligence would be unprecedented, and the plaintiffs in a putative class action have not shown that the alleged conduct violated underlying laws required for California unfair competition law (UCL) claims or that that they incurred an injury as required to proceed with those and other claims, Microsoft and OpenAI entities argue in reply briefs filed in California federal court in support of dismissal.
April 01, 2024
2nd Class Loses ERISA Case Over Proprietary TDFs After Bench Trial

LOS ANGELES — As a peer did in a similar case weeks earlier, a California federal judge has entered final judgment against a class of retirement plan participants in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over proprietary target date funds (TDFs) following a bench trial.
March 29, 2024
Flyer’s Suit Against Delta For Deceptive ‘Greenwashing’ Not Preempted, Judge Rules

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on March 28 granted in part and denied in part Delta Air Lines Inc.’s motion to dismiss a flyer’s putative class action accusing the airline of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misleading consumers with “greenwashing” statements such as describing itself as “carbon-neutral” based on its environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments.
March 29, 2024
Investor Says Company Misled About AI Product’s Ability To Identify Weaponry

BOSTON — An investor says in a putative class complaint filed in Massachusetts federal court that an artificial intelligence company and certain of its executives misled investors by overstating the abilities of an artificial intelligence-powered security system developed by the company to detect weapons, after the media reported that a knife that got into a school using the security system was used in an attack on a student.
March 29, 2024
6th Circuit Allows DOL To Argue As Amicus In ERISA Effective Vindication Row

CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has granted acting U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Julie A. Su’s motion to participate as amicus curiae in May 2 oral argument supporting application of the effective vindication doctrine in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act dispute involving what the DOL calls a representative action waiver.
March 29, 2024
$7.5M Deal Gets Final OK In ERISA Follow-Up Suit Over Proprietary Funds

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Reducing requested attorney fee and service awards slightly, a California federal judge granted final approval to a $7.5 million class settlement in a follow-up suit over a retirement plan whose fiduciaries allegedly maintained an all-proprietary fund lineup despite a 2018 settlement over similar Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims.
March 28, 2024
Judge Nixes Some Lead Claims Related To Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Products

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California on March 27 dismissed without prejudice California state law claims, including an unfair competition law (UCL) claim, against Trader Joe’s Co. related to allegations that its dark chocolate products contain lead and other heavy metals but denied dismissal with regard to claims brought pursuant to business practice laws in other states.
March 28, 2024
Dismissal Motion In Reverse-Mortgage Fee Class Action Denied Without Prejudice

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York on March 27 sustained objections to a magistrate judge’s recommendation that the court should deny the dismissal motion of one of the defendants in a putative class case over fees and other charges for reverse mortgages based on the defendant’s alleged failure to comply with local rules and a prior order, but the judge adopted the recommendation to deny the motion without prejudice to renewal pending the determination of several issues in a related action.
March 28, 2024
Judge Dismisses PFAS Cosmetics Class For Failure To Adequately Plead Allegations

NEW YORK — A federal judge has dismissed a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) lawsuit against a cosmetics company, ruling that the class plaintiffs failed to adequately plead that the products in question contained PFAS and lacked standing.
March 27, 2024
Insurer Seeks High Court Review Of Remanded Class Action Challenging Its Practices

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An insurer filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a class action challenging its practices fits within the internal affairs and home state controversy exceptions to the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA).
March 27, 2024
Judge Allows UCL, Negligence Claims Against Roblox In Mothers’ ‘Gambling’ Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on March 26 granted in part and denied in part a motion by Roblox Corp. to dismiss a putative class action brought against it by two mothers who accuse it of being liable for their minor children’s engagement in illegal gambling games on the Roblox platform.
March 26, 2024
Judge Grants Preliminary Approval To Settlement For Lender’s ‘Junk Fees’

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge granted a motion for preliminary approval of a settlement under which Ocwen Financial Corp. and Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC (together, Ocwen) will pay an estimated $53 million to resolve a mortgagor’s class action claims against it for charging “hidden junk fees” in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
March 26, 2024
9th Circuit: Investor Does Not Allege Scienter In COVID-19 ‘Cure’ Suit

PASADENA, Calif. — A panel of judges in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 25 upheld the dismissal of putative class complaint in which an investor claimed that a pharmaceutical company and certain of its executives misled investors by claiming that a COVID-19 treatment was a “cure,” with the panel finding that the investor did not adequately allege a strong inference of scienter.
March 26, 2024
Suit Accusing Ford Of Eavesdropping, Intercepting Text Messages Dismissed

SAN DIEGO — A putative class action against Ford Motor Co. under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) was dismissed, with a California federal judge finding that the plaintiff did not establish that the automaker engaged in aiding and abetting a spyware company in the collection and distribution of customers’ information from Ford’s online chat feature, with the judge also holding that some of the allegedly violated portions of the statute do not apply to the modern technology at issue.
March 25, 2024
Plaintiffs In Royalty Dispute Seek Answer On Remand Bid Before Jurisdiction Ruling

DENVER — Plaintiffs who sued a hydraulic fracturing company filed a brief on March 22 opposing the company’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in a royalty dispute, arguing that a Colorado federal court should rule on the plaintiffs’ pending motion to remand the case to state court before addressing the company’s motion.
March 25, 2024
Judge Grants Summary Judgment On Driver’s UCL Claim For ‘Unfair’ COVID Premiums

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted GEICO’s motion for summary judgment on an insured’s claim against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by unfairly profiting from a premium giveback program initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part citing evidence that state insurance regulators deemed GEICO’s givebacks sufficient.
March 25, 2024
In Amicus Brief, Groups Urge 2nd Circuit To Affirm ERISA Ruling In Jury Trial Case

NEW YORK — Supporting the argument by Yale University and related appellees that the “could have” standard used in damages instructions is not grounds for overturning judgment in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case that went before a jury, a group of prominent organizations filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm a 2023 judgment against a class of retirement plan participants.
March 25, 2024
1st Circuit: 2023 Mass. Law Bars 2020 Suit Over University’s Pandemic Closure

BOSTON — The retroactive application of a Massachusetts law signed into effect in August 2022 that bars actions for damages and equitable monetary relief against institutions of higher education for acts or omissions in response to the coronavirus pandemic does not violate the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution, a First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming a trial court’s summary judgment ruling in a class complaint by students against Boston University (BU).
March 25, 2024
Amended Race Bias Class Claims Against Sesame Place Permitted, But Scope Trimmed

PHILADELPHIA — Visitors to a Pennsylvania children’s amusement park who filed a class complaint after their children were allegedly snubbed by the costumed Sesame Street characters may amend their complaint a second time to add a negligent supervision claim but may not expand the scope of their claims to include allegations of race discrimination throughout the park, including at the pool and on rides, as that would require “significantly more discovery,” a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled, partially granting a motion for leave to amend.