Newsletter RSS

Mealey's Class Actions

  • December 20, 2024

    After Partial Dismissal, Garda Data Breach Suit Settled, Stayed, Closed

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — On the heels of a ruling in which she partly granted a security firm’s motion to dismiss privacy and negligence claims over a data breach that exposed employees’ personally identifiable information (PII), a Florida federal judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion to stay the suit in light of a postruling announcement that the parties reached a conditional settlement of the putative class action.

  • December 20, 2024

    Adequacy, Typicality Issues Doom Class Certification Bid In ERISA Fees, Funds Case

    LOS ANGELES — Saying in part that “neither Plaintiff has established even a de minimis familiarity with the facts of the case,” a California federal judge denied a motion for class certification in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over a 403(b) retirement plan’s fees and funds.

  • December 20, 2024

    CPAP MDL Judge Dismisses Actions Against SoClean, Says Not Appropriately Filed

    PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania federal judge who oversees the two related multidistrict litigations involving the recall of approximately 10.8 million continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea devices dismissed a third-party complaint filed in one of the MDLs by the manufacturer of recalled CPAP machines, which asked that the manufacturer of equipment that uses ozone to clean and disinfect the machines be forced to contribute to settlement agreements and ruled that a putative class action against the same party “is an entirely new lawsuit” and dismissed it from the MDL docket.

  • December 19, 2024

    Health Company: Courts Of Appeal Have Exclusive Jurisdiction Over FCC Orders

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Hobbs Act provides courts of appeal the jurisdiction to decide whether an order by the Federal Communications Commission concerning what constitutes faxes prohibited by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) “is correct,” a medical supply company tells the U.S. Supreme Court in its Dec. 18 respondent brief.

  • December 19, 2024

    Judge Orders Class Notified In $18.2M Settlement Of Senior Home Understaffing Suit

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge ordered that notification be issued to more than 4,100 class members comprising family members of former and current residents of care facilities after the court granted final approval of an $18.2 million settlement with the facilities’ operator, including $10.5 million in attorney fees, for claims that residents were harmed by understaffing in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and elder financial abuse law.

  • December 19, 2024

    Class Counsel Get A 3rd Of $9M Global Deal In ERISA Proprietary Funds Suit

    CINCINNATI — An Ohio federal magistrate judge on Dec. 18 granted final approval to a global $9 million settlement of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over proprietary funds, from which she authorized paying the requested amounts of $3 million for attorney fees and $30,000 for service awards.

  • December 19, 2024

    Worker Granted Extension To Respond To Class Tolling High Court Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 18 granted a motion by Union Pacific Railroad Co. workers for an extension of time to respond to a petition by the company seeking a ruling on whether tolling under American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah extends “to non-class members so long as they were not ‘unambiguously excluded” from the class.

  • December 19, 2024

    $1.25 Million Settlement Approved In Onix Group Data Breach Class Action

    PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge presiding over a consolidated class action for negligence and consumer protection violations related to a 2023 data breach experienced by a Pennsylvania firm granted final approval to a $1.25 million settlement of the suit, overruling two objections and mostly granting requested attorney fees and service awards.

  • December 19, 2024

    3rd Circuit Appeal Seeking Revival Of ERISA Imprudence Case Is Dismissed

    PHILADELPHIA — Without substantive explanation, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals case challenging summary judgment for Evonik Corp. and related entities in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action has been dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a joint stipulation.

  • December 18, 2024

    Morgan Stanley Expenses Settlement Reaffirmed, Attorney Fees Disgorgement Denied

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California reaffirmed the fairness of a more than $10 million settlement in a case accusing Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (MSSB) of various wage violations and declined to vacate a supplemental attorney fees award, deny further distributions or disgorge past payments.

  • December 18, 2024

    Motions To Strike Class Claims, Dismiss Denied In Real Estate Commissions Case

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri issued a pair of orders denying motions to dismiss and motions to strike class allegations in a consolidated class action by home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and real estate franchises of conspiring to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.

  • December 18, 2024

    $19M Class Settlement In Lawsuit Over ESOP Wins Final Approval

    TAMPA, Fla. — Upon receiving a joint notice of nonobjection, a Florida federal judge on Dec. 17 granted final approval to a $19 million class settlement that the plaintiffs said will “provide[] an average recovery of more than $100,000 per class member on a gross basis, topping the chart of recent ESOP [employee stock ownership plan] settlements by a substantial margin.”

  • December 18, 2024

    Amended Complaint Allowed In Disney Wage Suit After $233M Settlement Reached

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California judge on Dec 18 permitted an amended complaint to be filed in a lawsuit accusing a theme park operator and the company running its restaurants of wage violations in light of a $233 million proposed settlement that would resolve all claims related to allegedly underpaid service charges under the Anaheim, Calif., Living Wage Ordinance (LWO).

  • December 18, 2024

    Parties: Full Deal Is Back On Track In ERISA Case Over Alleged Cost-Shifting

    ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A little over a week after reporting the partial breakdown of a global settlement, parties in a class action concerning an alleged cost-shifting scheme regarding health plan administrative fees on Dec. 17 informed a North Carolina federal court that continued negotiations resulted in an “agreement on material terms to resolve all claims.”

  • December 18, 2024

    2 Objectors To Oracle Data Collection Suit Settlement Appeal To 9th Circuit

    SAN FRANCISCO — One month after a California federal judge granted final approval to a $115 million settlement of a privacy and wiretap class action against Oracle America Inc., two class members who had lodged objections to the settlement filed notices that they were appealing the trial court’s approval ruling to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • December 18, 2024

    Royalty Payment Case Against Fracking Companies Is Valid, Plaintiffs Argue

    WHEELING, W.Va. — The plaintiffs who sued Southwestern Energy Co. and Southwestern Production Co. LLC (collectively, Southwestern) alleging that they paid diminished royalties regarding hydraulic fracturing mineral rights filed a brief in West Virginia federal court arguing that it should deny the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on grounds the defendants “knew and anticipated the impact on Plaintiff’s well but went forward with drilling,” saying the facts of the case “fit squarely within the negligence theory of liability under Atkinson v. Virginia.”

  • December 18, 2024

    PACER Settlement Objector Argues Court Abused Its Discretion With Approval

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A trial court exceeded its jurisdiction and abused its discretion by including in a Public Access to Court Electronic Records system (PACER) fees settlement class users whose expenditures and claims exceeded $10,000, a settlement objector argues in his corrected appellant and reply brief both filed on the same day in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • December 18, 2024

    9th Circuit Denies Rehearing After Live Nation, Ticketmaster Arbitration Ruling

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel unanimously denied a petition for panel rehearing, and the majority denied a petition for rehearing en banc filed by Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Ticketmaster LLC after the panel affirmed a trial court’s denial of arbitration in a putative class complaint accusing the two companies of engaging in anticompetitive practices in online ticket sales.

  • December 18, 2024

    Netflix Granted Extension To Respond To Wrongful Death Class High Court Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court gave Netflix Inc. until Dec. 27 to file a requested response to a petition for a writ of certiorari presenting jurisdictional questions in a putative class complaint filed by the estate and family members of a minor who died by suicide who accuse the streaming service of strict liability, wrongful death and negligence in connection with its release of a show depicting a suicide.

  • December 18, 2024

    Class, Real Estate Companies Oppose 3 Appeals Challenging Commissions Settlements

    ST. LOUIS — Home sellers and three realty companies filed appellee briefs opposing three appeals by objectors to settlements between the sellers, real estate franchise and The National Association of Realtors (NAR) found by a jury to have conspired to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.

  • December 17, 2024

    Dismissal Motions Mostly Denied In MOVEit Data Breach MDL

    BOSTON — In a pair of rulings, a Massachusetts federal judge declined to dismiss six of the consolidated lawsuits filed over the theft of medical data that occurred due to vulnerabilities in a file-transfer software program, finding that the home-state exception to the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) did not apply and concluding that plaintiffs in all but four of the hundreds of cases in the multidistrict litigation had sufficiently established standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

  • December 17, 2024

    Final Approval Recommended For $19M Class Deal In Lawsuit Over ESOP

    TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge has recommended awarding the requested attorney fees and final approval of a $19 million class settlement that the plaintiffs say would “provide[] an average recovery of more than $100,000 per class member on a gross basis, topping the chart of recent ESOP [employee stock ownership plan] settlements by a substantial margin.”

  • December 16, 2024

    Patients, Employees Settle Data Breach Suit Against Dental Chain For $2.7 Million

    DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge granted final approval to a $2.7 million agreement that settles negligence and implied contract claims brought by the employees and patients of a multistate dental chain related to a February 2023 data breach that exposed the personally identifiable information (PII) of almost 2 million people.

  • December 16, 2024

    United Tells 5th Circuit Class Incorrectly Certified In Vaccine Mandate Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Texas erred in partially granting a motion for class certification filed by United Airlines Inc. employees in a case over the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23’s commonality, predominance or superiority requirements were not satisfied, United Airlines argues in an appellant/cross-appellee brief filed in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • December 16, 2024

    Summary Judgment Bid Fails In ERISA Suit Challenging TDFs

    ALLENTOWN, Pa. — With scant explanation, a Pennsylvania federal judge on Dec. 13 denied a summary judgment motion filed by PPL Corp. and related defendants in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action challenging the inclusion of Northern Trust target date funds (TDFs) in four defined-contribution pension benefit plans.