BakerHostetler has released its Class Action Year In Review, which presents a brief overview of the landscape for class actions in 2021 and a preview of what to expect for 2022. The report covers class action litigation in several areas:
The Class Action Lawsuit Defense blog, published by Baker & Hostetler LLP, focuses on legal developments and strategic considerations in defending against class action lawsuits. It covers trends and updates in insurance-related class actions, multidistrict litigation procedures, and evolving judicial attitudes toward incentive awards for class representatives. The blog also addresses emerging issues such as PFAS litigation and regulatory challenges impacting class certification and defense strategies. It provides analysis of appellate decisions, procedural rule proposals, and the implications of class action settlements, offering insights relevant to corporate defendants and legal practitioners involved in complex class action defense.
In a refreshingly plain-spoken opinion issued Aug. 6, a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals criticized a multimillion-dollar class action settlement in litigation over Google’s unauthorized use of internet tracking “cookies,” remanding to the District Court for…
In 2016, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins, holding that even when Congress has granted parties a statutory right, a procedural violation of that right will not by itself satisfy the “concrete harm” requirement for…
On April 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an ambiguous arbitration agreement does not provide a sufficient basis to conclude that parties agreed to class arbitration.
In Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to…
The new year began with dramatic growth in vehicle total loss class actions over payment of sales tax and title transfer and registration fees, interpretations of the filed rate doctrine, and further activity in labor depreciation class actions.
Are absent members of an uncertified class or Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action “parties” and thus “represented” by plaintiff’s counsel? If so, is defense counsel prohibited from speaking with absent class members? At first glance, the answer would…
Expert testimony plays a critical role in nearly all putative class actions, including at the class certification stage where parties rely on expert evidence to address the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The Supreme Court has repeatedly…
The Eighth Circuit recently vacated a district court’s final approval of a proposed class action settlement agreement because it did not assess the plaintiff’s standing before approval. Schumacher v. SC Data Center, Inc., 912 F.3d 1104 (8th Cir. 2019).…
The final quarter of 2018 witnessed a number of new twists on old theories in class actions involving auto and homeowners claims and coverages, as well as further activity in some long-running class actions. Read BakerHostetler’s Q4 2018 Insurance Class…
In this era where there appears to be a new data security incident announced each month, there is surprisingly little class certification jurisprudence for data security class actions. Indeed, to date we know of only four decisions that have addressed…