For many causes of action, a plaintiff is required to establish an actual “injury” caused by the alleged violation of law. That requirement can be a powerful barrier to class certification if individualized factual inquiries...more
Some forty years ago this author litigated a precedent setting case in the United States District Court in Newark, New Jersey and in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. Among numerous reported decisions in...more
Class action defendants who have a strong basis for defeating class certification need not wait around until the plaintiffs move to certify a class before putting the issue to the test. In some instances, a more strategic and...more
A trio of recent cases challenging disparate food and beverage labels offers a few common substantive and procedural lessons for companies. First, the back panels – when considered in light of U.S. Food and Drug...more
The US Supreme Court denied a certiorari petition seeking to resolve circuit court splits relevant to the litigation of class action matters, including if and when class certification is appropriate where a significant...more
In our initial blog post, we introduced readers to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” and predicted the rise of PFAS consumer class actions and increased regulatory activity barring the...more
On June 21, 2021, the Supreme Court issued an opinion by Justice Barrett on the reliance element of a securities fraud claim. In a unanimous portion of her opinion (the “Decision”), Justice Barrett held that courts may...more
On March 3, the Central District of California denied class certification in a putative automotive class action against Toyota. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to establish commonality under Rule 23(a)(2), as well...more
The Eleventh Circuit last week issued a common-sense ruling vacating class certification in a TCPA case—an area of the law where common sense does not always prevail. In Cordoba v. DIRECTV, LLC, No. 19-12077 (11th Cir. Nov....more
In 2017, the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted a new class action rule, modeled after Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, with the avowed purpose of aligning state class-action practice with the federal practice and encouraging resort to the...more
In late June, thirty-nine cities and counties advancing claims in the opioid multidistrict litigation moved to certify a “negotiating class” solely for the purpose of reaching a settlement....more
In Bell v. Brockett, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the certification of a class of defendants, a rare procedural maneuver that the court referred to as a “unicorn.” ...more
This edition focuses on rulings issued between November 16, 2017, and February 15, 2018. In this issue, we cover five decisions granting motions to strike/dismiss class claims, seven decisions denying such motions, 15...more