Peter Breslauer
Visit Attorney ProfileNinth Circuit Raises the Bar for Settling Nationwide Consumer-Protection Class Actions
In an opinion that could make certification of nationwide class action settlements considerably more difficult, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit has ruled that when deciding whether to certify a multistate settlement class, the district court must consider whether differences in state laws cause… Read More
Third Circuit Rules Single Unauthorized Call Actionable Under TCPA
In a precedential decision filed on July 10, 2017, the Third Circuit addressed consumer standing, after Spokeo, to bring a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Reversing an order dismissing a TCPA claim for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, the court ruled the claim could… Read More
Seventh Circuit Tosses “No Injury” FACTA Claim After Spokeo
The Seventh Circuit has issued the first opinion of a federal court of appeals addressing, under Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540 (2016), whether a plaintiff has standing to sue under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et… Read More
Third Circuit Remands TCPA Class Action to take Account of July 2015 FCC Ruling on What Qualifies as an ATDS
The debate continues over what constitutes an “automatic telephone dialing system,” or ATDS, under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), as the Third Circuit vacates, for consideration under recent FCC guidance, an order granting summary judgment in favor of Yahoo in a case where the… Read More
Third Circuit Rules That Whether a Contract Permits Classwide Arbitration is for the District Court, not the Arbitrator, to Decide
In a case of first impression, the Third Circuit has ruled that the district court, not an arbitrator, should decide whether classwide arbitration is available under a contract with an arbitration clause. Opalinski v. Robert Half International Inc., No. 12-4444, 2014 WL 3733685 (3d Cir.… Read More
Early Fact Disclosure Facilitated by Electronic Discovery in E.D. Pa. Antitrust Class Action
Recognizing the speed and low cost of searching for relevant facts in electronically stored information (ESI), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ordered plaintiffs’ counsel to disclose – in advance of depositions and class certification or summary judgment proceedings… Read More
Early Ruling Strikes Nationwide Class Allegations For Lack Of Standing, Avoiding “Extensive Discovery Costs And Delay”
A recent decision of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dismissed, as a threshold question of jurisdiction, a plaintiff’s allegation seeking a nationwide class, because the plaintiff personally had standing to sue only under the law of the state where… Read More
Comcast Plaintiffs Try For Class Certification Again
Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 133 S. Ct. 1426 (2013), was one of the most important recent class certification opinions of the United States Supreme Court. Comcast established that before a class can be certified under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3), a plaintiff’s damages model must survive… Read More
Third Circuit Rules that Plaintiff Cannot Obtain Review of FLSA Decertification Order by Voluntarily Dismissing Case
In a case of first impression, the Third Circuit has ruled that plaintiffs in Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions may not, after a district court decertifies a collective-action class, obtain appellate review of the decertification order by voluntarily dismissing their claims with prejudice and… Read More