As it stands, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has taken the position that class action waivers in individual employee/employer arbitration agreements are illegal and the agency continues to invalidate these...more
9/11/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
D.R. Horton ,
D.R. Horton v NLRB ,
Employment Contract ,
Murphy Oil USA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS
At first glance there seems to be a saving grace in the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure for plaintiffs who are running up against the deadline for filing a lawsuit, i.e., Rule 41(a)(1). Rule 41(a)(1) provides that if...more
Circumscribing an individual’s power to subject companies to class and collective actions has been on the forefront of corporate litigation for several years, particularly in light of the growing trend of class action...more
A recent global survey of corporate counsel revealed that the increasing number of class actions filed is considered to be the most important litigation trend currently facing companies. Over the last several years,...more
6/15/2015
Survey Says Increasing Number of Class Actions Most Important Litigation Trend:
Norton Rose Fulbright recently released its global 2015 Litigation Trends Annual Survey, which compiles litigation trends and data gathered...more
6/11/2015
/ Class Action ,
Discrimination ,
Hostile Environment ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Motion to Amend ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Last week, a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Administrative Law Judge reiterated the agency’s position that employers who require the arbitration of grievances by employees on an individual basis violate the National...more
On May 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Commil USA LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., 575 U. S. ____ ( 2015), rejecting the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals’ recognition of a defense to induced patent...more
5/29/2015
/ Cisco ,
Cisco v CommilUSA ,
Frivolous Lawsuits ,
Good Faith ,
Honest Belief Defense ,
Induced Infringement ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patents ,
Presumption of Validity ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS
Class action lawsuits have become a commonplace fixture in the American judicial landscape and carry the force to extract billions of dollars from defendants, many of whom settle once a class is certified due to the costs and...more
As a matter of course, a prevailing party cannot recover its attorneys’ fees from an opposing party in North Carolina. But, attorneys’ fees can be awarded if there is specific statutory authority. ...more
The answer should be a resounding “no,” according to the United States and Commil USA, LLC, the recipient of a multi-million dollar jury award against Cisco Systems, Inc. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in...more
With the recent release of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “Arbitration Study: Report to Congress, pursuant to Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act § 1028(a)”, it is widely anticipated that the...more
The practice of restricting plaintiff access to class procedures through binding arbitration agreements has garnered significant attention over the last five years on the heels of several U.S. Supreme Court decisions...more
On Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released its long-awaited “Arbitration Study: Report to Congress, pursuant to Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act § 1028(a)”, which presents...more
Congress v SCtPatent litigation reform has been on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee agenda, with the recent reintroduction of legislation seeking to address patent litigation abuses and a hearing examining recent U.S....more
3/9/2015
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appellate Review ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Cisco v CommilUSA ,
Claim Construction ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Definiteness ,
Frivolous Lawsuits ,
Good Faith ,
Highmark v. Allcare ,
Induced Infringement ,
Innovation Act ,
Limelight v Akamai ,
Nautilus Inc. v. Biosig Instruments ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Reform ,
Patent Trolls ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Pleadings ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Review ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals
Most of the cases that come to mind when you think “class action” consist of a large group of plaintiffs (hundreds or multiple thousands) seeking authorization to proceed as a class in one lawsuit against one or a handful of...more
In the wake of several favorable U.S. Supreme Court decisions, companies increasingly are using arbitration agreements to control their exposure to class action liability. Although recent cases have reinforced the power of...more
The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”) has found its way to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court several times in the last two years, as plaintiffs and defendants seek to define the parameters of the federal law...more
technologyImagine that you are fighting to enforce your valid patents and after winning two jury verdicts you feel vindicated by the $74 million award you have been granted for the defendant’s role in inducing the...more
12/15/2014
Employers continue to face an increasing number of lawsuits (including class and collective actions) claiming they violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) based on a wide variety of policies and conduct. ...more
Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals kicked off the holiday by giving thanks for the power to prevent parties from reaping the benefits of fraud perpetrated against the federal courts. The Fourth Circuit decided in...more
After many years of battle, Whirlpool Corporation finds itself celebrating a favorable jury verdict in a class action lawsuit. A few weeks ago, a jury had the rare occasion to find for Whirlpool in Glazer v. Whirlpool Corp....more
Class action settlements, certification of issues classes, and class notice requirements are among the topics that may be the subject of upcoming proposed amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. On the agenda for...more
Over the course of the past two years, litigants have faced significant changes to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that are critical to navigating the federal litigation landscape, include rules governing subpoenas,...more
Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it expects to pay the largest whistleblower reward pursuant to Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act...more
On September 17, 2014, the House Judiciary Committee approved the bi-partisan federal Trade Secrets Protection Act of 2014, H.R. 5233, which we previously wrote about when introduced in July, 2014 by North Carolina...more