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
Third Circuit Holds Courts, Not Arbitrators, Decide if Class-Wide Arbitration is Authorized, Even if Arbitration Agreement Invokes AAA Rules
The Third Circuit began the New Year by ruling that courts, not arbitrators, decide whether an arbitration agreement authorizes class-wide arbitration, even if the agreement invokes American Arbitration Association rules. Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC v. Scout Petroleum, LLC, — F.3d —, 2016 WL 53860 (3d Cir.… Read More
Supreme Court Says Offers of Individual Settlement or Judgment Don’t Moot Class Actions
It turns out you can’t get rid of a putative class action by offering complete individual relief to a named plaintiff. In Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 2016 WL 228345 (U.S. Jan. 20, 2016), the Supreme Court took up the question whether “an unaccepted offer to… Read More
Microsoft Wins Supreme Court Review of Class Certification Appeal Issue
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Microsoft’s petition for a writ of certiorari and agreed to decide whether class action plaintiffs can dismiss their individual cases with prejudice after class certification is denied and nonetheless appeal the class certification ruling without first going to… Read More
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Class ActionsUnited States Supreme Court Rejects California Appellate Court’s Refusal to Enforce Arbitration Provision
The United States Supreme Court has reversed a California appellate court’s refusal to enforce an arbitration provision in a contract, concluding that the court’s decision is incompatible with the Federal Arbitration Act and prior Supreme Court precedent. The case, DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, __ S.… Read More
Ascertainability Sinks Comcast Class Settlement
While ascertainability is often hard-fought in class certification motions, it’s unusual for a class action settlement to crater on ascertainability. But that’s exactly what happened to a Comcast settlement in federal court in Philadelphia earlier this month. When Judge Anita Brody learned that Comcast had… Read More
The Future of Food: What’s On The Menu for 2016 & Beyond
Last month, I had the good fortune to participate in the inaugural FoodVision USA, three days of roundtable discussions, engaging presentations and interactive programs in Chicago, IL among the food industry’s movers and shakers. The conversations, debates and seminars challenged how we think today about… Read More
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UncategorizedThird 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
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TCPAStanding on the Spectrum of Data Breach Harm
In another victory for class-action data theft/breach plaintiffs, last week in Enslin v. The Coca-Cola Co., the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion to dismiss the case for lack of standing. There, Shane Enslin sued the Coca-Cola Company and various other Coca-Cola entities (“Coke”)… Read More
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Data Security and Privacy IssuesAscertainability in Flux: Who’s in and who’s out
A recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals signals a growing divide among the circuits over the “ascertainability” question in class actions. In Mullins v. Direct Digital, LLC, No. 15-1776, — F.3d —, 2015 WL 4546159, at *1 (7th Cir. July 28, 2015),… Read More