Patrick T. Ryan
Visit Attorney ProfileSixth Circuit Rejects Certification of Negotiation Class as Unauthorized by Rule 23
On September 24, 2020, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit rejected a trial court’s novel attempt to use Rule 23 to create a class for negotiation purposes only. In re: Nat’l Prescription Opiate Litig., ___ F.3d ___, 2020 WL 5701916 (6th Cir. Sept. 24,… Read More
Third Circuit Joins Majority of Circuits in Holding that Simply Receiving a Receipt that Shows Too Many Credit Card Digits Does Not Confer Article III Standing to Sue Under FACTA
On March 8, 2019, the Third Circuit became the third federal court of appeals to hold that a shopper alleging he or she received a receipt displaying too many digits of a credit card number—in violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act’s ban… Read More
Eleventh Circuit Finds Standing in a FACTA Case but Maintains its Decision Does Not Create a Circuit Split
On Wednesday of last week, the Eleventh Circuit did what no other post-Spokeo federal court of appeals has done. It held that a plaintiff alleging a willful violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) based on being given a receipt that showed… Read More
Third Circuit Finds Plaintiffs Have Standing to Sue SEPTA for Only One of Two Claimed Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Earlier this week, the Third Circuit issued its decision in Long v. SEPTA, No. 17-1889, 2018 WL 4290046 (3d Cir. Sept. 10, 2018)—another in a series of decisions from that court on Article III standing in cases where plaintiffs allege that a defendant’s violation of… Read More
Ninth Circuit Finds a “Concrete Injury” Adequately Alleged on Remand From Supreme Court in Spokeo
The Ninth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Robins v. Spokeo, Inc., No. 11-56843, 2017 WL 3480695 (9th Cir. Aug. 15, 2017), yesterday—on remand from the Supreme Court. This is the lawsuit in which Mr. Robins alleges that Spokeo, a “people search engine,” published inaccurate… Read More
Supreme Court Says Plaintiffs in Class and Collective Actions Can Sometimes Use Averages and Representative Samples to Prove Elements of Their Case
The Supreme Court decided yesterday, in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, No. 14-1146, 2016 WL 1092414 (U.S. Mar. 22, 2016), that the named plaintiffs in a wage-and-hours case could use an expert’s calculation of the average time a representative sample of workers took to put… Read More
New York Court Rejects Defendants’ Attempt to Moot Class Plaintiffs’ Claims By Depositing Funds With the Court
A federal district court judge in New York has denied a request by the defendants in a putative class action to deposit funds with the Clerk of Court in the amount of the defendants’ Rule 68 offer of judgment ($400) – an amount the defendants… Read More
Supreme Court Will Hear Case Where Defendant Says Lax Class Certification Standards Allowed the Use of Averages and an Improper “Trial by Formula”
The Supreme Court granted cert. yesterday in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, No. 14-1146 (U.S. June 8, 2015), a case that raises important issues on how class and collective actions are certified and adjudicated—and may allow the Court to provide further guidance on questions it… Read More
Third Circuit Clarifies Its Ascertainability Requirement: A Two-Part Inquiry—But Only a Two-Part Inquiry
The Third Circuit’s recent decision in Byrd v. Aaron’s Inc., No. 14-3050, 2015 WL 1727613 (3d Cir. Apr. 16, 2015), reversed a district court’s denial of class certification because the lower court incorrectly applied the ascertainability requirement to plaintiffs’ proposed Rule 23(b)(3) classes. The appellate… Read More
Second Circuit Says Comcast Does Not Bar Class Certification When Damages Require Individual Proof
Last week the Second Circuit joined a number of other circuits in ruling that the Supreme Court’s decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 569 U.S. ___, 133 S. Ct. 1426 (2013), does not require plaintiffs seeking class certification under Rule 23(b)(3) to show that damages… Read More