In Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the California state courts lacked personal jurisdiction over claims made by out-of-state plaintiffs in a mass action,...more
In a long-running employment class action in California, a California Court of Appeal recently addressed once again the use of surveys of class members....more
When a defendant receives an adverse decision on a motion for class certification, whether the court of appeals grants permission to appeal under Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (or a state-court...more
The Supreme Court began its new Term yesterday with oral arguments in cases involving whether arbitration agreements permitting only individual (non-class) arbitrations are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act, or...more
This week the Eighth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in a class action against State Farm involving the “labor depreciation” issue that I have covered extensively on this blog. State Farm prevailed on both the merits...more
10/2/2017
/ Appeals ,
Cash Value ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Depreciation ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Repairs ,
State Farm
There have been a substantial number of putative class actions filed recently against insurers involving the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA). These cases are typically filed by assignees of Medicare advantage...more
An emerging issue in class action litigation against the insurance industry involves an attempt by plaintiffs’ attorneys to argue that insurers should not be permitted to apply any deductible to payments made on an actual...more
There have been two recent federal district court decisions in the widespread class action litigation involving the application of depreciation to the labor cost component of replacement cost value on property insurance...more
8/15/2017
/ Class Action ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Depreciation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Repairs ,
Replacement Costs ,
State Farm
Here are my highlights from the second day of DRI’s 2017 Class Action Seminar:
Class Action Waivers in Employment Agreements (Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells) -
Neal Katyal is a leading Supreme Court advocate and is litigating...more
8/3/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Ethics ,
FRCP 23 ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Settlement ,
TCPA
At the recent DRI Class Action Seminar, I asked Alison Frankel of Thomson Reuters how she thinks corporate defendants should best handle media inquiries relating to class action suits. Here’s what I gleaned from her...more
I recently had the privilege of serving as vice chair for this year’s Defense Research Institute (DRI) Class Action Seminar. As I’ve done in years past, here are some highlights from the first day’s programming...more
8/1/2017
/ American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Canada ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
FACTA ,
FDCPA ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Supreme Court of Canada ,
Trump Administration
This week the Supreme Court issued a new opinion in a case that involved the scope of personal jurisdiction in a nationwide mass action brought in a state court. Although it is not entirely clear the extent to which this...more
The Supreme Court recently decided a case involving an Xbox 360, although the issue before them had nothing in particular to do with the video game system itself. It got me wondering, however, how many justices would you...more
6/20/2017
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Design Defects ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Xbox
The Supreme Court recently decided a case involving an Xbox 360, although the issue before them had nothing in particular to do with the video game system itself. It got me wondering, however, how many justices would you...more
A fair amount of attention has been given in the legal media to the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, H.R. 985, which has passed the House of Representatives and is currently under consideration by the Senate....more
3/28/2017
/ Appeals ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Discovery ,
FRCP 23(b)(2) ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Proposed Legislation
I’ve regularly followed on my blog key developments in the numerous class actions against the insurance industry involving the application of depreciation to the labor cost component of estimated replacement cost value in...more
2/22/2017
/ Cash Value ,
Class Action ,
Depreciation ,
Fair Market Value ,
Homeowner's Insurance ,
Insurance Industry ,
NE Supreme Court ,
Property Insurance ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Real Estate Market ,
Replacement Costs
Justice Scalia made major contributions to class action law, writing the Supreme Court’s opinions in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes and Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, two of the Court’s most significant class action decisions in...more
2/3/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
BP ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Neil Gorsuch ,
Nominations ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in class action cases involving: (1) class action waivers in employment contracts; and (2) whether filing of a securities class action tolled a statute of repose. In both...more
1/19/2017
/ American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Ernst & Young ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Murphy Oil USA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Putative Class Actions ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities ,
Statute of Repose ,
Tolling
One of the first significant class action appellate decisions of 2017 was issued this week. In Briseno v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., No. 15-55727 (9th Cir. Jan. 3, 2017), the Ninth Circuit held that Rule 23 does not require that it...more
I recently attended a presentation by futurist Michael Rogers that sparked me to think about what the courtrooms of the 2020s might look like. According to Rogers, one of the next big advances in technology will be augmented...more
I thought readers might find helpful some broader observations on strategies for defending class actions in 2016...
Dig in Deep Early: Some defense counsel are accustomed to the practice of filing a motion to dismiss...more
I have had a busy summer and am overdue in updating readers on recent decisions in class actions against insurers involving the “labor depreciation” issue. The issue involves whether, when insurers estimate the “actual cash...more
Last week, the Second Circuit reversed the approval of what was reportedly the largest antitrust class action settlement in history, valued at $7.25 billion. In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust...more
The Defense Research Institute (DRI) will be hosting its annual class action seminar in Washington, D.C. on July 21-22, 2016. If you haven’t been, this is the year to go. If you’ve been before, you won’t want to miss this...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, addressing whether the plaintiff had standing to sue in a putative class action brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”)....more