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

Mealey's Class Actions

March 13, 2024
Consumers Say Acne Products Marketed As ‘Safe’ Contained Carcinogens

LOS ANGELES — Two consumers filed a putative class action accusing Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (J&J) of deceptively labeling its “Neutrogena” and “Clean & Clear” and other skincare products as “safe” in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), alleging that the products contain high amounts of the carcinogen benzene.
March 12, 2024
Seaboard’s $9.75M Pork Price-Fixing Settlement With Direct Purchasers Approved

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge in Minnesota granted final approval of a $9.75 million settlement between Seaboard Foods LLC and direct purchaser plaintiffs (DPPs) in a multidistrict litigation accusing various pork suppliers of conspiring to stabilize and increase the price of pork.
March 12, 2024
Judge Sends Suits Accusing Tesla Of Misrepresenting Battery Range To Arbitration

OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge granted Tesla Inc.’s motion to compel individual arbitration of the plaintiffs’ claims in two related putative class action lawsuits against it for allegedly misrepresenting the driving range of its vehicles in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws.
March 12, 2024
Notice Of Appeal Filed After CAFA Exceptions Ruling In Floride Case

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo residents who brought a putative class complaint against the city and others seeking damages due after the practice of adding fluoride to the drinking water was stopped filed a notice of appeal nearly a month after a federal judge in New York denied the residents’ motion to send their complaint back to state court.
March 12, 2024
After A Few Tries, $37.5M Settlement Of Meta Tracking Class Action Gets Final OK

SAN FRANCISCO — After receiving assurances that the plaintiffs in a Facebook location-tracking class action had taken care of his latest concern over a $37.5 million settlement of privacy claims against the social network’s owner Meta Platforms Inc., a California federal judge on March 11 finally granted final approval of the settlement after a year and a half of tweaks and revisions to it.
March 12, 2024
9th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Wrongful Death Class Case Against Netflix

SAN FRANCISCO — A putative class complaint by the estate and family members of a minor who died by suicide accusing a streaming service of strict liability, wrongful death and negligence in connection with its release of a show depicting a suicide was properly dismissed for lack of standing and as time-barred, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming a trial court’s grant of Netflix Inc.’s motion to dismiss and motion to strike under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
March 11, 2024
Water Authority Will Settle Class Claims Over Industrial Waste Charges For $11.5M

DETROIT — A Michigan judge granted final approval of an $11.5 million settlement to be paid by the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) to end a class suit by property owners who are not significant industrial users (SIUs) but have paid industrial waste control (IWC) charges imposed by Detroit and GLWA; the property owners sued alleging the charges were wrongfully imposed taxes rather than proper user fees and violated the Prohibited Taxes by Cities and Villages Act.
March 11, 2024
Equal Athletic Opportunities Settlement Approved In Hawaii Female Students’ Suit

HONOLULU — A federal judge in Hawaii granted final approval of settlement between female students from an Ewa Beach, Hawaii, high school, the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) and the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) in a case accusing the 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; the students said the agreement will ensure equal athletic opportunities for the female students.
March 11, 2024
Majority: Court Erred In Denying Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss COVID-19 Coverage Suit

RICHMOND, Va. — A majority of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 8 held that a lower federal court erred when it denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s coverage lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, reversing both the lower court’s order denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss and its class certification order and remanding with instructions to dismiss the lawsuit.
March 11, 2024
Class Counsel Get $20.3M In Settlement Of ERISA Proprietary Funds Case

BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on March 8 issued orders granting final approval to a $61 million deal with General Electric Co. (GE) and related defendants that the plaintiffs said is “the largest [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] class action settlement of claims involving proprietary funds”; the judge also awarded class counsel a third of that amount for attorney fees.
March 11, 2024
2 Settlements In Public Utility’s ‘Flushable’ Wipes Case Granted Final Approval

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina on March 8 granted final approval to two injunctive relief settlements with retailers and makers of “flushable” wipes in a class case by commissioners of Public Works of the city of Charleston who allege that the wipes clog sewer systems across the country.
March 11, 2024
Tesla’s $6.08M Solar Roof Settlement Approved By Federal Judge In California

SAN FRANCISCO — A $6.08 million settlement to be paid by Tesla Inc. to end a class complaint by solar roof customers who allege that the costs increased after they signed contracts was granted final approval by a federal judge in California on March 8.
March 11, 2024
Class Certification Bid Draws Opposition In DUFTA Case Involving Insurer

WILMINGTON, Del. — Arguing in part that proposed class representatives “appear to be as unqualified as” one rejected in Gordon v. Sonar Capital Mgmt. LLC, defendants in a suit over an alleged scheme to strip capital from an insurance subsidiary on which many policyholders depend for long-term care (LTC) disability benefits urged the Delaware Chancery Court to deny certification of the proposed class.
March 11, 2024
Investors Seek Approval Of Fracking Securities Class Settlement Worth $7,068,750

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — U.S. investors who sued an oil and gas exploration company’s officers alleging that they violated federal securities laws have filed a brief in New York federal court supporting preliminary approval of a $7,068,750 class action settlement, which amounts to roughly 12.4% of the U.S. settlement class’s $56.3 million maximum recoverable damages.
March 08, 2024
Dismissal With Leave To Amend Granted In Wells Fargo Rate Lock Fees Suit

OAKLAND, Calif. — A mortgagor who filed a putative class complaint against three Wells Fargo entities over rate lock extension fees (RLEF) charged to borrowers and later refunded failed to sufficiently allege misconduct, a federal judge in California ruled, granting Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss with leave to amend.
March 08, 2024
$166M Price-Fixing Financial Aid Settlement Preliminarily Approved

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted preliminarily approval of the latest settlement in a class complaint by students who accuse more than a dozen private universities of “participating in a price-fixing cartel that is designed to reduce or eliminate financial aid as a locus of competition”; the $166 million agreement with four of the schools is the third reached in the case and brings the overall settlement total to $284 million.
March 08, 2024
8th Circuit Sets Argument In ERISA Case Over Cross-Plan Offsetting

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has set argument for March 14 in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act appeal where health plan participants challenging the practice known as “cross-plan offsetting” are seeking revival of their putative class suit, which was dismissed for failure to plead an injury in fact.
March 08, 2024
$5M Class Deal With Health System Gets Preliminary OK In ERISA Imprudence Case

DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge has granted preliminary approval of a $5 million class settlement proposal in a suit challenging numerous aspects of the management of two Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) retirement plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
March 07, 2024
Taxi Company: Fracking Operators Conspired To Fix Prices, Constrain Production

LAS VEGAS — A company that provides taxi service has filed an antitrust class action against multiple hydraulic fracturing companies in Nevada federal court, arguing that they are liable for conspiring to “coordinate, and ultimately constrain, domestic shale oil production, which has had the purpose and effect of fixing, raising, and maintaining the price of crude oil in and throughout” the country.
March 07, 2024
Airline Entities Seek Summary Judgment In Narrowed ERISA Suit Over ESG Factors

FORT WORTH, Texas — Days after a Texas federal judge denied their dismissal bid, airline defendants in a putative class case concerning environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and the purported proxy voting activism of investment management firms filed a summary judgment motion arguing that lack of proof dooms the action’s pleaded and unpleaded theories.
March 07, 2024
Briefing On Tolling In Opt-In Class Cases Ordered In Consolidated ACA Suits

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Saying “issues important to the resolution of the [government’s dismissal] Motion remain unaddressed,” a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge ordered supplemental briefing in consolidated cases of group health plans that allege that contributions were illegally exacted from them under the Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
March 07, 2024
Disney Passholder Settlement In Blocked Dates Case Granted Final Approval

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a $9.5 million class settlement in a case by passholders who brought claims under California law, including the state’s unfair competition law (UCL), and accused Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. of misleading them regarding blocked-out dates.
March 07, 2024
Plaintiffs Beat Dismissal Bid In ERISA Fees, Funds Row Despite Documents Ruling

LOS ANGELES — Ruling in part that certain documents were incorporated by reference into the amended complaint, a California federal judge denied dismissal of a putative class case against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and related defendants over a 403(b) retirement plan’s fees and funds.
March 07, 2024
Judge Partly Dismisses UCL Suit Challenging ‘Natural’ Claims On Frozen Chicken

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge dismissed all claims in a putative class action against a food products manufacturer for labeling its frozen chicken products as “natural” allegedly in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), except for claims relating to its “Popcorn Chicken” product, finding that claims relating to all of the other relevant products were preempted by federal regulations.
March 06, 2024
Judge Strikes Dismissal Of Putative Class Suit Against Alleged Gambling App

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge struck a plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal of his putative class suit against a “sweepstakes” app for allegedly enticing the plaintiff into illegal sports gambling in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and directed the plaintiff to file further briefing establishing whether the plaintiff received any settlement or consideration for dismissal and if dismissal will prejudice the interests of potential class members.