A U.S. District Court Judge in California dismissed a putative class action asserting claims under section 637.7 of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) in a case that could have useful implications for automotive and other device manufacturers whose
Inside Class Actions
The latest developments and trends affecting class actions
Two Federal Courts Arrive at Opposite Conclusions in Suits Claiming “Natural Flavor with Other Natural Flavors” Is Misleading
A court in the Northern District of Illinois and a court in the Middle District of Florida recently arrived at opposite conclusions in two very similar putative class actions, both of which alleged that the claim “natural flavor with other…
Ninth Circuit Holds COPPA Does Not Preempt Consistent State Law Claims Premised on COPPA Violations
By Amy Heath & Kathryn Cahoy
The Ninth Circuit recently held that the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to regulate the online collection of personal information from children under the age of 13, does not preempt consistent state law,…
A Closer Look: The Rise of Class Actions in the UK and the EU
From the implementation of the EU Representative Actions Directive to an explosion of claims in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, coupled with an ever-increasing role for litigation funders, class actions in both the UK and the EU are now taking…
Leaving a Bitter Taste: Class Action Lawsuits Alleging Lead and Cadmium in Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate manufacturers have recently been hit with a wave of putative class action complaints in New York and California federal courts, alleging that the confectioners breached an implied warranty of merchantability and engaged in misleading advertising by failing to…
A Closer Look: Equitable Jurisdiction in the Ninth Circuit After Sonner
By Amy Heath & Sonya Winner
Under the Ninth Circuit’s 2020 decision in Sonner v. Premier Nutrition Corp., 971 F.3d 834 (9th Cir. 2020), plaintiffs cannot recover equitable relief in federal court if they have an adequate legal remedy. More than two years later, district…
Sixth Circuit Applies Offensive Collateral Estoppel in Subsequent Mass Tort Proceedings
The Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s application of nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel to negligence claims arising out of an MDL—potentially raising the stakes for bellwether trials that are not considered binding by the district court at the outset…
SCOTUS Set to Resolve Circuit Split over Stays Pending Arbitration Appeal
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in a case to resolve a circuit split that has serious implications for companies who are unsuccessful in their efforts to enforce arbitration provisions in federal district courts.
In Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, No.…
First Circuit Holds that Class Action Settlements Require Separate Counsel for Class Members with Significantly Different Claims
The First Circuit recently vacated and remanded a district court’s approval of a proposed class action settlement “because the absence of separate settlement counsel for distinct groups of class members makes it too difficult to determine whether the settlement treated…
Second Circuit Clarifies Predominance Analysis in Decision Overturning Class Certification of 8,000 Retirement Plans
By Nick Pastan
The Second Circuit recently vacated a district court ruling certifying a class of thousands of employee benefit plans whose fiduciaries contracted with the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) to provide collateralized loans to plan participants, in a…