Class Action Defense Cases-Insurance Industry Discriminatory Sales Practices: Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Agrees With Defense And Denies Request To Centralize Actions

Plaintiffs Fail to Establish Grounds for Centralization of Lawsuits Under 28 U.S.C. § 1407 In conjunction with two class action lawsuits – one pending in the Eastern District of Louisiana and the other pending in the Western District of Texas – plaintiffs filed a motion with Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 seeking centralization of the actions for pretrial purposes, and defense attorneys opposed the request.

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Class Action Defense Cases-In re “A Million Little Pieces”: Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Grants Defense Motion To Centralize Class Action Litigation In The Southern District Of New York

Unopposed Defense Motion to Centralization of Individual and Class Action Lawsuits Based on Book “A Million Little Pieces” Granted Following the disclosure of false information in James Frey’s book _A Million Little Pieces_¸ and the filing of at least a dozen individual and class action lawsuits alleging “various state statutory and common law claims, such as negligence, consumer fraud, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment,” defense attorneys for Random House and Doubleday moved the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) pursuant to 28 U.

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Class Action Defense Cases-Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Rejects Federal Courts Requested By Plaintiffs And Defense, And Transfers Class Actions Against Volkswagon To District Of Massachusetts Under 28 U.S.C. § 1407

MDL Judicial Panel Transfers Class Action Lawsuits to Massachusetts Despite Fact that No Cases were Pending in that State After four statewide class actions were filed against Volkswagon of America arising out of its August 1004 warranty extension/reimbursement program for certain Volkswagon and Audi vehicles, defense and plaintiff attorneys filed a § 1407 motion for centralization of the litigation. In re Volkswagon and Audi Warranty Extension Litig., ___ F.Supp.2d ___, 2006 WL 2548199 (Jud.

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Class Action Defense Cases—In re Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Judicial Panel Transfers Putative Federal Antitrust Class Action Cases To Eastern District Of Pennsylvania Over Defense Objection

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Grants § 1407 Motion Over Objection of Some Defense Attorneys to Avoid Inconsistent Rulings on Class Action Certification in Federal Antitrust Cases Six class action lawsuits were filed against Merck, Medco Health, PAID Prescriptions (now part of Medco), ExpressScripts, Caremark, and AdvancePCS (now known as CaremarkPCS) alleging violations of federal antitrust laws based on the “conduct by the pharmacy-benefit manager (PBM) defendants – including the negotiation of rates for the sale of prescription drugs by retail pharmacies.

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Class Action Defense Cases-Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Transfers Class Action Against JP Morgan Chase To Northern District Of Illinois Under 28 U.S.C. § 1407

MDL Judicial Panel Centralizes Class Action Lawsuits in Illinois Because Action in that State is More Procedurally Advanced Three lawsuits were filed against JP Morgan Chase alleging misrepresentations in connection with its merger in 2004 with Bank One; two lawsuits were filed in Delaware, and one lawsuit was filed in Illinois. The plaintiff in the Delaware lawsuits moved for centralization of the class actions in Delaware. The defense supported centralization, but requested that the cases be transferred to the Southern District of New York.

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Qwest Class Action Defense Case-In re Qwest Communications: Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Judicial Panel Grants Defense Motion To Centralize Securities Cases In District Of Colorado Where Class Action Is Pending

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Grants Defense Motion Under § 1407 Motion to Consolidate Cases for Pretrial Purposes Before Class Action Judge even though Court-Approved Partial Settlement of Class Action is Pending

More than two dozen lawsuits – including at least one class action – were filed against Qwest Communications arising out of “alleged financial irregularities in connection with Qwest securities.” Defense attorneys sought to centralize pretrial proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 1407; plaintiffs’ lawyers in several actions objected. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) granted the defense motion. In re Qwest Communications Int’l, Inc., Securities & “ERISA” Litig. (No. II), 444 F.Supp.2d 1343 (Jud.Pan.Mult.Lit. 2006). Objecting plaintiffs argued “transfer should be denied because 1) a partial settlement has been approved in class action proceedings in the District of Colorado that have been pending since 2001; 2) alternatives to 1407 transfer were available to address any common discovery matters and to prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings; and/or 3) transfer would be unduly burdensome or otherwise prejudicial.” Id., at 1345. The Panel rejected these claim, explaining at page 1345:

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In re Bausch & Lomb-Class Action Defense Cases: Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Judicial Panel Transfers Putative Nationwide Class Action Cases To District Of South Carolina

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Grants Motion To Centralize Litigation for Pretrial Purposes and Selects District Where Manufacturing Facility is Located as Transferee Court A multitude of lawsuits, including several putative nationwide class action lawsuits, were filed against Bausch & Lomb arising out of its ReNu contact lens solution, which Bausch & Lomb (“B & L”) withdrew from the market after it was associated fungal keratitis (a type of eye infection).

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Class Action Defense Cases—In re Digital Music: Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Judicial Panel Transfers Putative Class Action Antitrust Cases At Request Of Plaintiffs And Defense To Southern District Of New York

**Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Grants Motions by Defense and Plaintiffs to Centralize Class Action Antitrust Cases under 28 U.S.C. § 1407 for Pretrial Purposes Several class action lawsuits were filed against Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Sony Corporation of America, Bertelsmann Music Group, Bertelsmann, Inc., Universal Music Group, Time Warner, Warner Music Group and EMI Music North America alleging “that the various defendants illegally conspired to artificially fix or maintain the prices of digitally formatted music offered for sale on the internet in violation of 1) Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.

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Class Action Defense Cases—In re Cintas: Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Holds That Statutory Objective of Pretrial Centralization Under § 1407 Includes Actions Brought To Compel Arbitration

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Grants Motion To Centralize Litigation in Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Overtime Case for Pretrial Purposes Over Defense Objection Current and former employees filed a “collective” action against Cintas Corp. in the Northern District of California alleging failure to pay overtime in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (the Veliz action) involving 2,000 plaintiffs. Cintas (as plaintiff) filed 70 actions against approximately 1800 of the Veliz plaintiffs to compel arbitration.

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Class Action Defense Cases—In re McDonald’s: Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Judicial Panel Transfers Putative Nationwide Class Action Cases To Northern District Of Illinois

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Grants § 1407 Motion to Centralize Pretrial Proceedings for Putative Nationwide Class Actions in District Where Defense Corporate Headquarters is Located Six lawsuits, including five putative nationwide class action cases, were filed against McDonald’s which – though alleging various theories of liability – were all based on the central allegation that McDonald’s “misled the public regarding the presence of gluten, wheat or dairy derivatives in its french fries.

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