Judicial Panel Grants Defense Request for Pretrial Coordination of Class Action Lawsuits Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, Rejects Transferee Court Proposed by Class Action Plaintiffs, and Transfers Class Actions to Central District of California
Three class actions – two in California and one in Illinois – were filed against Make-Up-Art Cosmetics (MAC) alleging violations of the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA); specifically, the class action complaints alleged that MAC printed “certain credit and debit card information on customer receipts” in violation of FACTA. In re Make-Up Art Cosmetics (M.A.C.) Fair & Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) Litig., ___ F.Supp.2d ___ (Jud.Pan.Mult.Lit. June 9, 2008) [Slip Opn., at 1]. Defense attorneys filed a motion with the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) requesting centralization of the class actions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 in the Central District of California; plaintiffs in the class actions supported the motion but argued for transfer to the Northern District of Illinois. _Id._ The Judicial Panel granted the motion to centralize the class action lawsuits, finding that centralization will eliminate duplicative discovery and prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings, particularly with respect to class action certification. _Id._ The Panel agreed also that the Central District of California was the appropriate transferee court because two of the three class actions were pending in that district, “including the first-filed and broadest actions.” _Id._
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