February 25, 2008 10:28 AM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Florida State Courts
Is it permissible for a class action to be prosecuted in a Florida county court? In Hernando County v. Morana, -- So. 2d --, 2008 WL 462039 (Fla. 5th DCA Feb. 22, 2008), the Florida Fifth District answered "no," unless the total aggregate amount in controversy is less than $15,000.
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February 24, 2008 4:31 PM | Posted by Kathryn Christian | Alabama District Courts
In Taylor v. XC Satellite Radio, Inc., No. CV-07-BE-0958-S, 2007 WL 4911184 (N.D. Ala. Nov. 30, 2007), XM Satellite Radio Inc. ("XM") radio service subscribers brought a class action against XM after they suffered a loss of radio reception when an operating satellite lost its signal. XM offered to pay subscribers credits amounting to more than twice the value of each subscriber's potential loss. The court held that the class action was moot because the entire class, i.e. all XM subscribers, had already been offered compensation amounting to more than what was requested--or even could be requested--as damages in the class action. The court's comments about the named plaintiffs' request for injunctive relief gently encouraged them to consider what type of relief they were really seeking. What did the court say?
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February 24, 2008 4:01 PM | Posted by Kathryn Christian | Alabama District Courts, Arbitration
Forgot to include an arbitration clause in your contract? No problem: according to the Northern District of Alabama, all you have to do is simply mail out a notice along with an arbitration clause, and you've got your arbitration agreement. In Milligan v. Comcast Corp., No. 7:06-CV-00809-UWC, 2007 WL 4885492 (N.D. Ala. Jan. 22, 2007), the Northern District of Alabama determined that an arbitration agreement mailed to cable service subscribers along with their monthly cable bill was binding and that the subscribers were therefore required to arbitrate their dispute with their cable service provider. How did the court reach this conclusion?
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February 24, 2008 3:31 PM | Posted by Kathryn Christian | Alabama District Courts
The Class Action Fairness Act ("CAFA") permits removal of class action cases to federal court if, among other things, the case was "commenced" on or after February 18, 2005. In May's Distributing Co. Inc. v. Total Containment, Inc., 523 F. Supp. 2d 1303 (M.D. Ala. 2007), the Middle District of Alabama adopted what it described as the "majority approach," holding that an amendment to a complaint does not "commence" a new action under CAFA if the amended complaint "relates back" to the original complaint under state law. What did the court ultimately decide?
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February 24, 2008 2:15 PM | Posted by Kathryn Christian | Alabama State Courts, Arbitration
In In re Home Builders Company et al., Nos. 1061760 and 1061762, 2008 WL 204447 (Ala. Jan. 25, 2008), mobile home purchasers who commenced American Arbitration Association ("AAA") arbitration proceedings argued that the arbitrator had the power to decide whether their construction defect claims could proceed on a class-wide basis. The Alabama Supreme Court agreed, reasoning that the parties had chosen the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules to govern their dispute, and that Rule 3 of the Supplementary Rules for Class Arbitrations of the AAA stated that the arbitrator shall determine "whether the applicable arbitration clause permits the arbitration to proceed on behalf of or against a class." What did the court say about whether class-wide arbitration should ultimately be permitted?
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February 19, 2008 7:32 PM | Posted by Blaise Huhta | News | Link
British Airways and Virgin Airlines tentatively agree to settle class action lawsuit over alleged fixing of fuel surcharge prices.
Class action lawsuit by advocacy group on behalf of thousands of children in state custody seeks changes in Michigan’s foster care system.
Judge grants summary judgment and dismisses class action lawsuit alleging Tyson Foods knowingly hired illegal immigrants to save money on wages.
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February 11, 2008 4:39 PM | Posted by Dean Morande | Southern District of Florida
Any time before a motion for certification, according to the Southern District in Grabein v. 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc., No. 07-22235-CIV, 2008 WL 343179 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 29, 2008).
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February 11, 2008 9:37 AM | Posted by Kenya Reddy | News | Link
Scripps Health settles class action involving pricing and collection practices for uninsured patients.
Pending settlement reached in class action against DeBeers diamond company.
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February 8, 2008 4:40 PM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Florida State Courts
The Florida appellate courts have been split on the issue of whether the individualized issue of reliance precludes class certification of a Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act claim, with the First District declaring that it does not. In a February 6, 2008 opinion in Egwuatu v. South Lubes, Inc., Case No. 1D07-0977 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), the First District had occasion to review that determination. What did it do?
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February 7, 2008 10:23 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Eleventh Circuit
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February 5, 2008 11:44 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Eleventh Circuit
The Eleventh Circuit determined that, where a claim under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act involves only a determination of whether any services where provided at all—as opposed to whether the charge for services rendered was reasonable—individualized factual inquiries do not preclude class treatment.
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February 5, 2008 11:40 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Eleventh Circuit
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February 5, 2008 11:39 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Southern District of Florida
The Southern District confirmed that claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Rule 23 can survive together in a single action only if each claim seeks a distinct form of relief. Resnick v. Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., No. 07-80609-CIV, 2008 WL 113665 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 8, 2008).
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February 5, 2008 11:37 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Southern District of Florida
The Southern District shot down the Plaintiff’s attempt at prevailing party attorneys’ fees where the only basis for fees was the fact that the litigation was brought on a class-wide basis. The court made clear that a class action, by itself, does not present a proper basis for attorneys’ fees. Kallas v. Carnival Corp., No. 06-201150CIV, 2008 WL 111064 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 8, 2008).
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February 5, 2008 11:35 AM | Posted by Dean Morande | Eleventh Circuit
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February 1, 2008 5:00 PM | Posted by Fentrice Driskell | Middle District of Florida
No, provided that the agreement affords the party seeking to avoid arbitration an opportunity to reject the terms and opt out of the agreement.
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February 1, 2008 11:37 AM | Posted by D. Matthew Allen | Southern District of Florida
Here's a bit of shameless self-promotion about our colleague Neil Kodski. Neil was one of three attorneys recently honored with The Most Effective Lawyer Award in the Class Action category at a luncheon sponsored by the Daily Business Review. Neil and his co-counsel won this honor for representing pro bono a class of Medicaid patients who had been denied reimbursement for the pharmaceutical Neurontin. Congratulations to Neil! For more information about the case, read on.
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