We previously covered the Southern District of California’s dismissal of a plaintiff’s claim that defendant falsely advertised that its licorice candy was “naturally flavored” because testing allegedly showed that the product contained synthetic malic acid that functioned as a flavor.
Inside Class Actions
The latest developments and trends affecting class actions
Inside Class Actions, published by Covington & Burling LLP, focuses on developments and legal issues in class action litigation. The blog covers topics such as multidistrict litigation (MDL) procedures, class certification challenges, predominance and ascertainability standards, consumer protection class actions, antitrust class actions, and state and federal regulatory impacts on class litigation. It discusses recent court decisions affecting class action strategies, including evidentiary and procedural requirements, damages modeling, and preemption issues under federal statutes. The blog provides insights relevant to litigators, corporate counsel, and policymakers involved in complex class action and mass tort cases.
Latest from Inside Class Actions - Page 4
Third Circuit Addresses Standing in Website Wiretapping Claims—Again
The Third Circuit continues to draw a firm line on Article III standing in website “wiretapping” cases. Just weeks after the court’s decision in Harriet Carter Gifts, the court has issued yet another decision reinforcing that the alleged collection…
Tenth Circuit Emphasizes Prior Holding that Ascertainability Does Not Require Administrative Feasibility
By Stephen Rees
As we previously covered, the Tenth Circuit in Cline v. Sunoco, Inc. (R&M), 159 F.4th 11711 (10th Cir. 2025) adopted the majority view that “administrative feasibility” for identifying class members is not an independent requirement for certifying a class…
Eighth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Antitrust Class Action Alleging Group Boycott of Agricultural E-Commerce Platforms for “Impermissible Group Pleading”
In In re: Crop Inputs Antitrust Litigation, No. 24-3104, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of an antitrust class action alleging that suppliers of seeds, pesticides, and other agricultural inputs conspired to refuse to sell their products to…
Wiretapping Suit Meets Triple Defeat: No Standing, Consent Established, Class Allegations Rejected
By Rachel Lia & Steve Petkis
Continuing the trend of early dismissals in website wiretapping cases, a California federal court has dismissed a putative class action challenging the use of third-party pixel technology on nonprofit food bank websites. Timothee v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 25-CV-05106-LB, 2026…
One Plan, Many Accounts: Fourth Circuit Slams the Door on Mandatory ERISA Classes in Defined Contribution Cases
In Trauernicht v. Genworth Financial, Inc., 169 F.4th 459 (4th Cir. 2026), the Fourth Circuit delivered a significant win for defendants facing ERISA class actions. Reversing a district court’s certification order, the court held that claims under ERISA § 502(a)(2)…
Overpayment Claims Don’t Always Fly: The Fifth Circuit on Article III Standing
Plaintiffs in consumer class action lawsuits often assert a theory of harm based on an alleged overpayment. The typical claim is that a plaintiff bought a good or service that had some alleged defect or was subject to some misrepresentation,…
Prominent Arbitration Clause Signage Precludes Parking Lot Class Action
A federal court in Colorado recently confirmed that a conspicuous arbitration clause may preclude a consumer from prosecuting class claims in court even if the consumer did not affirmatively and expressly consent to the clause.…
Another Court Dismisses Website Privacy Suit for Lack of Article III Standing
Adding to a growing body of case law following the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Popa v. Microsoft Corporation, a California federal court has dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction a privacy suit against a news website, holding that the…
Sensitive Search Terms Not Enough To Establish Article III Standing Under Popa
By Divya Bhat & Matthew Verdin
A recent decision from the Southern District of California underscores a point courts have made increasingly clear after the Ninth Circuit’s precedential decision in Popa v. Microsoft: alleging the disclosure of online activity—even activity touching on sensitive health topics—is not…