CLASS ACTION DEFENSE BLOG
Welcome to Michael J. Hassen's Blog. Here you will find over 2,000 articles related to class actions.
Supreme Court to Address Investment Bank and Institutional Investor Liability in Underwriting IPOs, and Per Se Rule that Resale Price Maintenance Violates Sherman Act Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times reports that the United States Supreme Court had accepted defense petitions for writs of certiorari in “two important antitrust cases” and that the opinions should clarify areas of law “that have increasingly become unsettled.” One of the antitrust cases, Credit Suisse First Boston v.
Class Actions In The News Uncategorized
Read more...
To allow class action defense lawyers anticipate claims against which they may have to defend, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for class actions filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. This report covers the time period from December 1 – December 7, 2006. Employment law class action cases yet again hold the top spot on the list.
Class Actions In The News Uncategorized
Read more...
Julie Creswell of the New York Times reports today on the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversing a district court order certifying a class action against hundreds of Wall Street banks. The 51-page decision concerned a district court order in In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litig., ___ F.3d ___ (2nd Cir. December 6, 2006), granting a motion to certify a class action in “six focus cases out of 310 consolidated class actions, which themselves were consolidations of thousands of separate class actions alleging securities law violations in connection with public offerings.
Class Actions In The News Uncategorized
Read more...
Class Action Alleges Product is “Fake Guacamole” Because it Contains Less than 2% Avocado Exactly what is “guacamole”? That question lies at the center of a new class action lawsuit filed in California last week against Kraft Foods. The lawsuit alleges that Kraft defrauded customers by marketing a dip as “guacamole” when it contained less than 2% avocado. The author predicts an uphill battle for plaintiff’s lawyer, however, in obtaining certification of the lawsuit as a class action.
Class Actions In The News Uncategorized
Read more...
As has been a pattern, class action defense attorneys in California will continue to confront more labor law class action cases than any other category. However, the class action filings have seen another spike in public accommodation/ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) cases these past two weeks. In an effort to assist class action defense attorneys in anticipating the claims against which they may have to defend, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class actions filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas.
Class Actions In The News Uncategorized
Read more...
Judge Grants Defense Motion for Attorney Fees Against Plaintiffs’ Law Firm Following Successful Defense of Class Action Lawsuit Floyd Norris of the New York Times reports that federal district court judge Melinda Harmon awarded the defense in an Enron-related class action attorney fees against plaintiff class-action law firm Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman & Robbins for maintaining class action claims against Alliance Capital, a money management firm, after it was apparent that the claims had no merit.
Class Actions In The News PSLRA/SLUSA Class Actions Uncategorized
Read more...
Class Action Defense Attorneys Urged to Advise Clients about FACTA Requirements The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), enacted by Congress to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act, will become effective in only a matter of days. FACTA requires that credit card receipts provided to customers be modified so that the credit card number shown on the receipt is truncated and so that the expiration date is omitted. Defense attorneys and in-house counsel are encouraged to ensure compliance with FACTA; the author predicts class action lawsuits will be filed alleging FACTA violations within months of its effective date.
Class Actions In The News FCRA Class Actions Uncategorized
Read more...
As previously reported, class action plaintiff law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP and two of the firm’s top partners, David Bershad and Steven Schulman were indicted in mid-May 2006 for paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to clients to serve as plaintiffs. Prosecutors allege that the class action firm paid people to serve as class representatives and recruited people to purchase stock in anticipation that share prices would fall, thereby positioning itself to play a lead role in any subsequent securities fraud class action lawsuits and, concomitantly, realize greater attorney fees.
Class Actions In The News Uncategorized
Read more...
The New York Times reports on the decision of the United States Supreme Court to let stand the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court that reversed a $10 billion judgment against Philip Morris. The judgment against Philip Morris had been entered in a class action that alleged smokers “were misled about the health risks of ‘light’ cigarettes.” The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the judgment, agreeing with defense attorneys that a statutory exemption for conduct authorized by a governmental regulatory agency applied because “the Federal Trade Commission had endorsed the ‘light’ and ‘low tar’ descriptions in settlements with other cigarette makers.
Class Actions In The News Uncategorized
Read more...
The Los Angeles Times reports that IBM has reached a tentative agreement to pay $65 million in settlement of a class action lawsuit filed in California federal court that alleged it had improperly denied overtime pay to 32,000 workers. According to the article, “The case involved workers classified as ‘technical services professional and information technology specialists.’ IBM considered them professionals exempt from overtime laws detailed in the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws.
Class Actions In The News Uncategorized
Read more...