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Second Circuit holds that class action seeking “meaningless” relief shouldn’t...
We’ve often argued that when the principal rationale for approving a low-value class settlement is that the claims are weak, that is a signal that the case should not have been filed as a class action...
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Ninth Circuit rejects meaningful ascertainability requirement for class...
Can you have a class action if class members can’t reliably be found? That question is at the heart of the debate over ascertainability—one that has divided the federal courts. Earlier this week, the...
View ArticleFederal Government Acknowledges Undue Risk of Potentially Massive Liability...
Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear argument in United States v. Bormes, a case that apparently has not captured the attention of most class action practitioners. That’s understandable: The question...
View ArticleCan a Product-Liability Class that Is Full of Uninjured Members Be Certified?
The answer is a resounding “no,” says Judge Cormac Carney of the Central District of California in a recent significant decision in litigation over the third generation Toyota Prius and 2010 Lexus...
View ArticleSeventh Circuit: A “Shapeless, Free-Wheeling” Trial Plan Is Grounds for...
The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in Espenscheid v. DirectSat USA, LLC—authored by Judge Posner—is full of good news for employers and other class-action defendants. The case is a hybrid collective...
View ArticleLipton v. Chattem, Inc.: Federal District Court Denies Certification On...
The requirement that the named plaintiff must be an adequate class representative is not often the basis for denying class certification. But a recent decision from the Northern District of Illinois in...
View ArticleCan Plaintiffs Evade The FDCPA’s Cap on Total Statutory Damages in a Class...
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which regulates the conduct of debt collectors, authorizes plaintiffs suing over violations to recover statutory damages of up to $1,000. Because these...
View ArticleIs There New Hope for Challenging Aggregated Statutory Damages?
Congress and state legislatures have enacted many statutes that provide for minimum statutory damages recoveries that are far in excess of the actual damages most individuals will suffer. A prominent...
View ArticleThird Circuit Rulings Give Teeth to Ascertainability Requirement for Class...
The “ascertainability” requirement for class certification is a crucial safeguard for both defendants and absent class members. There is some debate about its origin: some courts have held that it is...
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D.C. Circuit rejects freestanding rule against “fail-safe” classes
The D.C. Circuit recently deepened a circuit split over whether district courts may certify a “fail-safe” class. In In re White, 64 F.4th 302 (D.C. Cir. 2023),the D.C. Circuit agreed that fail-safe...
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