September 3, 2008 3:47 PM | Posted by Blaise Huhta | News | Link
Judge grants motion to dismiss of securities class action lawsuit against ATM and voting machine maker Diebold, Inc. which alleged investors were misled.
Settlement in works for class action lawsuit filed by gym members against Court South gym over “lifetime memberships.”
Target Corp. agrees to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by the National Federation of the Blind by modifying its website and paying damages.
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August 28, 2008 1:28 PM | Posted by Fentrice Driskell | Middle District of Florida
No, according to a recent decision granting a motion for class certification where class members potentially would recover only $3.20 per individual.
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August 21, 2008 11:02 AM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Florida state courts
We have hit a quiet spell in terms of Florida class action law (although the federal courts remain active and we should have some posts up on federal cases shortly). There is a small piece of news on the Florida state court front.
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July 29, 2008 12:04 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Eleventh Circuit
Yes, but only so long as Judge Carnes is constrained by the prior panel precedent rule.
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July 29, 2008 12:00 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Southern District of Florida
More than a conclusory statement about the aggregate sum of the amount in controversy in an affidavit by an officer of the defendant.
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July 27, 2008 7:21 PM | Posted by Blaise Huhta | News | Link
Cleveland law firm to disburse millions in unclaimed class action awards to charities.
Class action lawsuits filed by shareholders of TRM Corp., a provider of ATM services and products, are dismissed.
A health insurance company charged with systematically paying too little for out-of-network care to its members has agreed to a $255 million settlement of class-action suits.
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June 30, 2008 11:06 AM | Posted by Kenya Reddy | News | Link
Collector files class action lawsuit against Louis Vuitton for failure to provide sufficient documentation for limited edition handbags. On same day that Tyson Foods Inc. settles false advertising lawsuit brought by competitor, lawyers file class action in same court on behalf of customers across the country accusing Tyson of consumer fraud, breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment. Seven workers file class action lawsuit against several Verizon Communications contractors and subcontractors, alleging they were not paid minimum wage and overtime wages. Supreme Court’s ruling cutting punitive damages awarded to Alaskans harmed by Exxon Valdez spill may have far-reaching implications for all class actions involving significant damages. New Jersey town files class action lawsuit suing travel websites accused of shortchanging towns out of hotel occupancy taxes.
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June 26, 2008 11:49 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Southern District of Florida
The Southern District of Florida determined in Jones v. Jeld-Wen, Inc., No. 07-22328, 2008 WL 2433213 (S.D. Fla. June 13, 2008), that individualized causation issues precluded certification of a class seeking damages for allegedly defective windows.
The plaintiffs in this action were homeowners seeking certification based on claims that the impact resistant glass installed in their homes was defective. The defendants (or more accurately the third-party defendants who actually manufactured the products) successfully argued that individualized issues predominate because the jury must determine, on a house by house basis, whether the defective resin in the windows was the legal cause of the damages for each pane of glass.
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June 26, 2008 11:43 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Southern District of Florida
Variations in contract law across the nation, along with factual issues over whether unpaid work was actually performed, led to a finding that individualized issues of both law and fact predominated over issues common to the proposed class.
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June 26, 2008 11:41 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Southern District of Florida
In In re Managed Care Litigation, No. 00-1334-MD, 2008 WL 2329448 (S.D. Fla. June 4, 2008), the court decided that an opt-out notice containing (1) the name of the person signing the notice, (2) the name of the entity at issue, (3) the address of the entity, (4) a telephone number, (5) and the Federal Tax ID Number of the entity, was sufficient to establish that the entity at issue opted out of the prior class action and was not precluded from going forward with a separate action.
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June 25, 2008 12:04 PM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Analysis
According to the May 2008 ABA Journal, the Federal Judicial Center has released findings on which circuits experienced significant increases in the filing of class actions after the enactment of the Class Action Fairness Act. The bottom line is that more conservative circuits had fewer increases in filings and more liberal circuits had greater increases in filings. Do you want to know where the Eleventh Circuit fell?
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June 23, 2008 7:59 AM | Posted by Kathryn Christian | Alabama district courts
In Eufaula Drugs, Inc. v. TDI Managed Care Services, Inc., No. 2:05-CV-293-MEF, 2008 WL 2428214 (M.D. Ala. June 17, 2008), the Middle District of Alabama granted a motion for class certification filed by pharmacies claiming that they were entitled to be reimbursed at a higher rate pursuant to their contracts with a pharmacy benefits manager.
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June 23, 2008 6:43 AM | Posted by Kathryn Christian | Alabama district courts
In Grimes v. Rave Motion Pictures Birmingham, L.L.C., No. 07-AR-1397-S, 2008 WL 2338131 (N.D. Ala. May 28, 2008), the Northern District of Alabama declared that the damages provisions of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ("FACTA") violate the due process clause of the United States Constitution.
FACTA prohibits vendors from printing more than the last five digits of a customer's credit card number on a receipt. If the vendor fails to comply with FACTA, the customer is automatically entitled to "damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000" and is also entitled to recover punitive damages.
The defendants argued that they would go out of business if they had to pay the statutory damages under FACTA to all class members and that FACTA therefore deprived them of their property without due process of law. The court stated that, under FACTA, it could see "no honest way to avoid certifying a class" and "no honest way to approve a settlement that awards less than $100 to each class member." The court concluded that it "must follow Congress, even if it means bankruptcy for every business in the country, that is, of course, unless this Congressional enactment is invalid, as the court thinks it is." Read more about the court's reasoning by clicking the link below.
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June 20, 2008 5:02 PM | Posted by Kenya Reddy | News | Link
Milberg Weiss to pay $75 million to settle federal kickback case involving class-action lawsuits.
Illinois appeals court reinstates $120 million judgment against owners of the former Clark Oil refinery, reversing trial court’s decision to dissolve the class-action suit after a verdict was reached. Investor files class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo, claiming the company misrepresented the liquidity of auction-rate securities. Judge certifies class action in lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s policy of allowing in-state law school graduates to become lawyers without passing the bar exam. Jury orders Kia Motors Corporation to pay New Jersey car owners $6 million for breach of warranty arising from defective brake systems.
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June 20, 2008 11:00 AM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Florida state courts
In a brief per curiam decision in TT of Longwood, Inc. v. Briggs, Case No. 5D07-8391, the Fifth District today reversed a circuit court discovery order that granted merits discovery prior to class certification, citing its prior decision in Policastro v. Stelk, 780 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001).
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June 13, 2008 3:35 PM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Analysis
As our dear readers know, a year ago, in Lowery v. Alabama Power, the Eleventh Circuit significantly modified removal law in this circuit by requiring that documents proving the amount in controversy must come from the complaint, other papers received by the plaintiff, a contract, or pre-removal pleadings and discovery.
Did the Seventh Circuit's decision in Spivey v. Vertrue, Inc., -- F.3d --, 2008 WL 2357099 (7th Cir. June 11, 2008) speak to the issue?
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June 13, 2008 3:15 PM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Analysis
Class Action Fairness Act lawyers know that 28 U.S.C. s. 1453(c)(1), the appeal provision of CAFA, states that application to appeal a remand order must be made "not less than 7 days after entry of the order." Most courts, including the Eleventh Circuit, have stated that this is a scrivenor's error such that "less means more" and the application to appeal must be made within 7 days of the order. See Miedema v. Maytag Corp., 450 F.3d 1322, 1326 (11th Cir. 2006). What does Judge Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit say about this?
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June 12, 2008 3:07 PM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Florida state courts
Is a product defect case alleging that an autombile braking system design defect causes premature wear on the front brakes and therefore fails to meet customer expectations amenable to class treatment? Not on the facts of record in Kia Motors America Corp. v. Butler, -- So. 2d --, 2008 WL 2356354 (Fla. 3d DCA June 11, 2008).
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June 6, 2008 11:39 AM | Posted by Fentrice Driskell | Middle District of Florida
In Stahl v. Mastec, Inc., No. 8:05-cv-1265-T-27TGW, 2008 WL 2267469 (M.D. Fla. May 20, 2008), class counsel sought an award of attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses equal to 28.8% of the gross settlement amount of $13,137,365.00.
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June 4, 2008 4:46 PM | Posted by Blaise Huhta | News | Link
H&R Block owned company sued in class action suit for allegedly targeting minorities in Massachusetts for subprime mortgages.
AT&T agrees to refund unauthorized third-party charges for ring tones in Florida.
Florida attorney files a class-action lawsuit against Bank of America alleging it over-charged customers when recalculating payments on adjustable-rate mortgages.
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