FindLaw Opinion Summaries - Class Action

Lincoln Nat'l Life Ins., Co. v. Bezich

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Contracts, Insurance Law, Securities Law) A petition for permission to appeal, arising from the district court's remand of plaintiff's class action lawsuit against an insurer for breach of contract claims on the basis that CAFA's exception to federal jurisdiction for the action applied, is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as plaintiff's claim "related to the rights, duties,...and obligations relating to or created by or pursuant to...a security," as defined in the Securities Act of 1933.

Brown v. Kelly

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(U.S. 2d Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Class Actions, Criminal Law & Procedure) In a class action by persons allegedly arrested pursuant to an unconstitutional New York anti-begging statute, the district court's class certification order is affirmed in part where the citywide plaintiff class met the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(3). However, the order is reversed in part where the district court erred in certifying a statewide defendant class because the defendant class representatives did not meet the adequacy and typicality requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a), and the district court also erred in certifying a statewide plaintiff class because the certification of this class was contingent on the bilateral certification of both a statewide plaintiff and a statewide defendant class.

Faulkinbury v. Boyd & Assoc. Inc.

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Labor & Employment Law) In a suit brought by about 4000 current and former employees against an employer, claiming that the company, which provides security guard services throughout Southern California, denied meal and rest breaks and failed to pay for overtime, trial court's denial of their motion for class certification is affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded where: 1) order denying the motion for class certification as to the meal break class and the rest break class is affirmed as the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding common issues of law and fact did not predominate over individual issues; and 2) order denying the motion for class certification as to the overtime-pay class is reversed and remanded.

Anderson v. Bayer Corp.

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(U.S. 7th Cir., Class Actions, Drugs & Biotech, Injury And Tort Law, Product Liability) In a suit for personal injuries caused by Trasylol, a prescription medication manufactured by Bayer, defendants' petition for leave to appeal under 28 U.S.C. section 1453(c) of a district court's order remanding four of the five cases is denied for lack of jurisdiction as the district court properly concluded that the four cases were not "mass" actions under CAFA.

In re: Wilborn

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(U.S. 5th Cir., Bankruptcy Law, Civil Procedure, Class Actions) In an interlocutory appeal from a bankruptcy court's certification of a class action in an adversary proceeding, the order is vacated where a bankruptcy judge may certify a class of debtors under appropriate circumstances but the proposed class in this case did not satisfy the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and Federal Bankruptcy Rule of Procedure 7023.

Kleffman v. Vonage Holdings Corp.

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(Cal., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Commercial Law, Consumer Protection Law, Cyberspace Law, False Advertising) In plaintiff's class action suit under section 17529.5(a)(2), which makes it unlawful to advertise in a commercial e-mail advertisement (i.e. spam) that "contains or is accompanied by falsified, misrepresented, or forged header information," dismissal of the complaint for failure to state a claim is affirmed as sending commercial e-mail advertisements from multiple domain names for the purpose of bypassing spam filters is not unlawful under section 17529.5(a)(2).

Elliot v. Carcieri

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(U.S. 1st Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Government Law) In a class action lawsuit on behalf of foster care children who are under the legal custody of Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), claiming that systematic deficiencies in the state's child welfare and foster care systems deprived the plaintiffs of their rights under the U.S. Constitution and several federal statutes, district court's judgment dismissing the complaint on the ground that the Next Friends lacked capacity to sue on behalf of plaintiffs is reversed where: 1) the district court erred in finding that the state appointed guardians ad litem or CASA advocates precluded plaintiffs from filing suit by a Next Friend; 2) under the circumstances of the case, Rule 17(c) allows federal courts discretion to appoint a Next Friend to represent the children in federal court; and 3) the proposed Next Friends are suited to represent the children in this case.

Hervey v. Mercury Cas. Co.

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Class Actions, Contracts, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law) In plaintiff's suit against her automobile insurance carrier, alleging that the insurer breached the policy by offsetting uninsured motorist payments due her for injuries suffered in an automobile accident with the amount the insurer paid plaintiff under the medical expense coverage in the same policy for the same accident, the trial court properly sustained without leave to amend the insurer's demurrer to plaintiff's class action complaint because the policy was not reasonably susceptible to plaintiff's interpretation of it.

Ehrheart v. Verizon Wireless

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 3d Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Communications Law, Consumer Protection Law) In a class action against Verizon Wireless claiming that defendant violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, which prohibits a seller from printing a receipt that displays more than the last five digits of a buyer's credit or debit card and/or the expiration date of the credit or debit card, a district court's order vacating its settlement class certification order and granting defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings is reversed where: 1) there was a restricted, tightly focused role that Rule 23 prescribes for district courts, requiring them to act as fiduciaries for the absent class members, but that did not vest them with broad powers to intrude upon the parties' bargain; 2) a strong public policy existed, which was particularly muscular in class action suits, favoring settlement of disputes, finality of judgments and the termination of litigation; and 3) changes in the law after a settlement was reached did not provide ground for rescission of the settlement.

Pretka v. Kolter City Plaza II, Inc.

Wed, 9 Jun 2010 20:00:02 PDT

(U.S. 11th Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Contracts, Evidence, Property Law & Real Estate) In a class action alleging violations of the Florida Condominium Act as well as breach of contract, the district court's order remanding the action to state court is reversed where: 1) defendant established by more than a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeded $5 million; and 2) the jurisdictional evidence that defendant attached to its opposition to remand should not have been excluded merely because it was submitted in response to the plaintiffs' motion to remand.

Am. Nurses Ass'n v. O'Connrell

Wed, 9 Jun 2010 20:00:02 PDT

(Cal. App., Administrative Law, Class Actions, Education Law, Government Law, Health Law) In an action against the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the California Department of Education (CDE) challenging a portion of a legal advisory regarding the rights of students with disabilities in K-12 public schools, arising from a 2005 class action settlement, trial court's judgment and peremptory writ of mandate issued are affirmed as California law does not allow designated voluntary school personnel, who are not licensed nurses, to administer insulin to diabetic students who require the injections under a section 504 Plan or Individualized Education Program.

In re: Metro. Gov of Nashville

Fri, 4 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(U.S. 6th Cir., Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Class Actions, Labor & Employment Law) Defendants' petition for a writ of mandamus, arising from plaintiffs' racial discrimination suit against their employer, is granted in part, denied in part and remanded where: 1) defendant's appeal of the district court's grant of plaintiffs' motion for a new trial is dismissed as such an order is generally not appealable as the order does not qualify as a "final decision" under 28 U.S.C section 1291; 2) defendant's contention that jurisdiction exists to consider its appeal by means of reviewing the district court's purported finding of alleged attorney misconduct is rejected; 3) the petition is granted to the extent of directing the district court to rule on the outstanding disparate-impact claims within 90 days from the filing of this opinion; and 4) remainder of the petition is denied.

Froud v. Anadarko E&P Co.

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(U.S. 8th Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions) In plaintiffs' request for permission to appeal from an order of the district court denying a motion to remand their class action, the request is denied where, while full briefing of the merits may not be necessary to allow the court to exercise its discretion to permit the appeal under Fed. R. App. P. 5, petitioners did not provide any discussion of the merits or the nature or importance of the issues presented by their requested appeal.

Rule v. Fort Dodge Animal Health, Inc.

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(U.S. 1st Cir., Class Actions, Consumer Products, Consumer Protection Law, False Advertising, Injury And Tort Law) In plaintiff's putative class action suit against Weyth Corporation and its subsidiary, alleging that defendants had sold a heartworm medication for dogs without disclosing safety concerns revealed in initial testing and in subsequent use, a grant of defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to sate a claim is affirmed where: 1) recovery generally is not available under the warranty of merchantability where the defect that made the product unfit caused no injury to the claimant and the threat is now gone and nothing now possessed by the claimant has been lessened in value; and 2) plaintiff has suffered no economic injuries under 93A section 4.

Mabry v. Superior Court

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 20:00:05 PDT

(Cal. App., Asset Forfeiture, Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Contracts, Judgment Enforcement, Property Law & Real Estate) In homeowners' petition for a writ of mandate challenging an order of the trial court, allowing for foreclosure to proceed on their home, is granted in part and remanded to the trial court to determine whether or not the lender complied with Civil Code section 2923.5. To the extent that the trial court's order precludes the assertion of any class action claims, the petition is denied.