Class Action Defense Cases-In re Mutual Fund Market-Timing: Seventh Circuit Holds That It Lacks Jurisdiction To Review District Court Order Remanding Class Action Lawsuits To State Court

Circuit Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Order Remanding Class Action Lawsuits to State Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1446(c) Seventh Circuit Holds This appeal resolving three class action lawsuits arose as follows: Plaintiffs (investors in various mutual funds) filed putative class action lawsuits in state court that defense attorneys removed to federal court. Following district court orders remanding the class actions to state court, the Seventh Circuit held that it had jurisdiction to review the remand orders and reversed.

Class Action Court Decisions PSLRA/SLUSA Class Actions Removal & Remand Uncategorized

Michigan Court Certifies Class Action Against Carlton Farms Based On Odors Emanating From Landfill

Michigan State Court Concludes that Residents Living Near Landfill Satisfied Requirements for Certification of Class Action Against Landfill Owners The Class Action Defense Blog has learned that a Michigan court certified a class action lawsuit brought by residents of Monroe and Wayne counties against Carleton Farms because it “consistently releases noxious odors and interferes with their [quiet] use and enjoy[ment] [of] their properties.” While the landfill has been in use for years, residents claim that the odor problem was exacerbated by the decision of Carleton Farms to accept municipal sewage sludge from Toronto.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized

New Employment Class Action Lawsuits Again Outnumber Other Class Action Cases Among Weekly Class Action Lawsuits Filed In California State And Federal Courts

In order to assist class action defense attorneys anticipate the cases against which they will have to defend in California, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits 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. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized

FACTA Class Action Defense Cases-In re TJX: Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Grants Defense Motion To Centralize Class Action Litigation In The District Of Kansas

Judicial Panel Grants Defense Request for Pretrial Coordination of Class Action Lawsuits Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 and Rejects Transferee Court Recommendations of Various Plaintiffs Opting Instead to Transfer Class Actions to District of Kansas as Requested by Defense Six class action lawsuits (followed by “tag-along” class actions) were filed against The TJX Companies for violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) because TJX allegedly included certain information on customer credit card receipts.

Class Action Court Decisions FCRA Class Actions Multidistrict Litigation Uncategorized

Class Action Defense Cases-CE Design v. Mortgage Exchange: Illinois State Appellate Court Dismisses Petition Seeking Leave To Appeal Denial Of Class Action Treatment Agreeing With Defense That Petition Was Untimely

Petition Seeking Review of Trial Court Order Denying Motion to Certify Class Action was Untimely thus Compelling Dismissal of the Petition for Lack of Jurisdiction

Plaintiffs filed a putative class action lawsuit in Illinois state court against The Mortgage Exchange alleging violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) and the state’s consumer fraud and deceptive business practices arising out of defendant’s transmission of unsolicited advertisements via facsimile. CE Design, Ltd. v. The Mortgage Exchange, Inc., 872 N.E.2d 1056, 1057 (Ill.App. 2007). Plaintiffs moved the trial court for an order certifying the litigation as a class action; defense attorneys opposed the motion on the grounds, inter alia, that “issues such as the specific receipt of and consent to receive a facsimile transmission by each class member were not common issues.” Id., at 1057-58. __On October 13, 2006, the trial court agreed with the defense and refused to certify a class action holding, also, that class action treatment was inappropriate because in enacting the TCPA Congress “envisioned individual, small claims litigation, not private class actions with potential recoveries in the millions of dollars.” Id., at 1058. Plaintiffs sought reconsideration of the denial of class certification, which the trial court denied on February 22, 2007. Plaintiffs sought leave to appeal the denial of class action treatment, and defense attorneys moved to dismiss plaintiffs’ petition for lack of jurisdiction. Id. The appellate court granted the defense motion holding that plaintiffs’ petition was untimely.

Under Illinois state court rules, plaintiffs’ petition had to be filed “within 30 days after the entry of the order”; plaintiffs acknowledge that they failed to meet this deadline but argued the time for filing the petition was tolled during the pendency of the motion for reconsideration, or alternatively that the motion for reconsideration was a “new motion” for certification of a class action. CE Design, at 1059. The appellate court rejected each argument. With respect to the tolling argument, the appellate court observed that “[t]here is no provision in the rule that allows a motion to reconsider an interlocutory order to extend the time for filing the petition for leave to appeal,” and that case law holds that the time period is not tolled. Id. (citations omitted). The court was unconvinced that motions to reconsider class certification orders should be an exception to this rule. Id., at1060.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Uncategorized

FLSA Class Action Defense Cases-Rubery v. Buth-Na-Bodhaige: New York Federal Court Denies Defense Motion To Dismiss Class Action Alleging Violations Of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) As Premature

Motion to Dismiss Class Action Based on Rule 68 Offer of Judgment to Plaintiff Premature Because Court had not yet Ruled on Plaintiff Motion to Certify Class Action New York District Court Holds Plaintiff filed a class action against her employer, Buth-Na-Bodhaige, for violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) arising out of its alleged failure to pay managers overtime and misclassification of its managers as “exempt” employees. Rubery v.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

UCL Class Action Defense Cases-Alvarado v. Selma Convalescent Hospital: California Court Holds That Class Action Alleging Violations Of Unfair Competition Law (UCL) Properly Dismissed Under Doctrine Of Judicial Abstention

Trial Court Properly Abstained from Resolving Class Action Claims that would Require it to “Assume General Regulatory Powers over the Health Care Industry through the Guise of Enforcing the UCL” California Court Holds

Plaintiff (now deceased) filed a putative class action in California state court against numerous skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities alleging violations of the state’s unfair competition law (UCL) for failing to comply with the nursing hour requirements set forth in Health and Safety Code § 1276.5(a). Alvarado v. Selma Convalescent Hosp., 153 Cal.App.4th 1292, 64 Cal.Rptr.3d 250, 251-52 (Cal.App. 2007). Defense attorneys demurred to the class action complaint, arguing that the court “should abstain from adjudicating the action or defer to the primary jurisdiction of the [Department of Health Services (DHS)]” and arguing further that no private right of action exists under § 1276.5(a). Id., at 253. Plaintiff disputed these arguments, and argued that the doctrine of “primary jurisdiction” did not apply, id. The trial court granted the defense motion and dismissed the class action with prejudice, holding that even assuming plaintiff could pursue a private action under § 1276.5, it nevertheless had discretion to abstain from hearing the case. Id. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the class action complaint, explaining at page 252: “Adjudicating the alleged controversy would have required the trial court to become involved in complex health care matters concerning the staffing of skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities and assume regulatory functions of the [DHS]. In addition, granting and enforcing the requested relief would place an unnecessary burden on the trial court given the power of the DHS to monitor and enforce compliance with section 1275.6.”

Noting that the question before it was whether the trial court abused its discretion by abstaining from adjudicating the alleged controversy,” Alvarado, at 253, the Court of Appeal began by observing that the UCL claims in the class action complaint sought equitable relief, and that “[b]ecause these remedies are equitable in nature, under the doctrine of judicial abstention, courts have the discretion to abstain from employing them,” id., at253-54 (citation omitted). In broad terms, the judicial abstention doctrine may be invoked “when the lawsuit involves determining complex economic policy which is best handled by the legislature or an administrative agency” or “where granting injunctive relief would be unnecessarily burdensome for the trial court to monitor and enforce given the availability of more effective means of redress.” Id., at 254 (citations omitted). Thus, a court should abstain if “granting the requested relief would require a trial court to assume the functions of an administrative agency, or to interfere with the functions of an administrative agency.” Id. (citations omitted).

Class Action Court Decisions Uncategorized

Class Action Defense Cases-Blackwell v. SkyWest: California Federal Court Refuses To Certify Labor Law Class Action Against Airline

Class Action Treatment of Labor Law Violation Claims not Warranted because Individual Issues Predominate over Common Issues thus Failing to Meet the Requirements of Rule 23(b)(3) California Federal Court Holds

Plaintiff filed a putative class action in California state court against her employer, SkyWest Airlines alleging violations of various state labor laws including failure to pay overtime and failure to provide and/or compensate for meal breaks. Blackwell v. SkyWest Airlines, Inc., ___ F.Supp.2d ___, Slip Opn., at 2 (S.D. Cal. August 30, 2007). Defense attorneys removed the action to federal court on the basis of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), _id._ Plaintiff filed a motion with the district court to certify the litigation as a class action, _id._, at 1, seeking to represent five classes, _id._, at 4; the district court agreed with defense attorneys that class action treatment would be inappropriate and denied the motion.

The district court readily concluded that the proposed classes, consisting of an estimated 2600 members, satisfied the numerosity requirement of Rule 23(a)(1), Blackwell, at 5-6, and that plaintiff had established the commonality requirement of Rule 23(a)(2) for each proposed class, id., at 6-9. The federal court additionally found that plaintiff would adequately represent the proposed classes within the meaning of Rule 23(a)(4), id., at 13-14. However, the typicality test of Rule 23(a)(3) proved more problematic. The district court agreed with defense attorneys that plaintiff lacked standing to pursue the class action claim alleging inaccurate wage statements under Labor Code § 226(a) because she failed to file her class action complaint within one year of her last wage statement. Id., at 10-11. The court further found that plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence to support her class action allegation based on voluntary shift trades, id., at 11-12.

Turning to the requirements of Rule 23(b), the district court noted that “[t]he Ninth Circuit has adopted an ‘extremely conservative view’ [with respect to Rule 23(b)(1)], requiring a finding that either ‘(1) rulings in separate actions would subject defendant to incompatible judgments requiting inconsistent conduct to comply with the judgment; or (2) a ruling in the first of a series of separate actions will “inescapably alter the substance of the rights of others having similar claims.”’” Blackwell, at 15 (citation omitted). The court agreed with defense attorneys that plaintiff failed to establish that either test had been met, id., at 15-16. The federal court next held that a Rule 23(b)(2) class action would be inappropriate because the monetary relief sought by the class action complaint was not “merely incidental to the injunctive relief sought.” Id., at 16.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

Class Action Filings Rise But Labor Law Class Action Cases Continue To Lead List Among New Class Action Lawsuits In California State And Federal Courts

As a resource for California defense attorneys, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits 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. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe. This report covers the time period from September 14 – September 20, 2007, during which time 48 new class action lawsuits were filed in these California state and federal courts.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized

Class Action Plaintiff Lawyer Melvin Weiss Indicted Only Days After William Lerach Pleads Guilty To Criminal Conspiracy Charges

Molly Selvin of the Los Angeles Times reports today that class action plaintiff lawyer Melvin Weiss has been indicted “on charges that he participated in a kickback scheme that allegedly netted millions of dollars in illicit legal fees.” The federal indictment comes on the heels of a guilty plea by class action plaintiff lawyer William Lerach, who was once a partner at Milberg Weiss, to charges of criminal conspiracy. The recent indictment added to the criminal charges filed against the law firm of Milberg Weiss and two of its named partners, Steve Schulman and David Bershad, last year.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized