- Electric-car maker Tesla doesn’t get many kind words from free market types, but here’s one [Coyote] More: North Carolina auto dealer lobby strikes back [News & Observer]
- One lawyer’s selection of the worst lawyer billboards, though they’re far from the worst we’ve seen [John M. Phillips]
- House hearings on litigation abuse and on litigation and international competitiveness [Judiciary, more, Point of Law]
- Ninth Circuit cites conflict of interest, throws out credit reporting class settlement [Trial Insider; Daniel Fisher]
- Private pensions, market-based water rates and more: “Australian travel notes from a policy wonk” [Alex Tabarrok]
- “Use elevators properly. Riding outside of cars can be dangerous and deadly” [Scouting NY, seen in Bronx apartment building]
- “It’s long been my view that blawgs, law blogs, are the greatest peer reviewed content ever created.” [Greenfield]
Tagged as:
Australia,
auto dealership protection laws,
chasing clients,
class action settlements,
elevators and escalators,
legal blogs,
North Carolina,
U.S. House of Representatives
- On 5-4 ideological lines, Supreme Court rules against class certification in Comcast v. Behrend [decision PDF, Philadelphia Inquirer, PoL, Michael Schearer/Law in Plain English, earlier]
- American Express v. Italian Colors: will SCOTUS further restrict class actions via arbitration? [Daniel Fisher/Forbes and more, Michael Greve, Ted Frank debates Myriam Gilles, Ted at IBD and his earlier paper]
- Win for Ted Frank: 3rd Circuit vacates baby products class action pact that gave lawyers $14M, clients $3M [PoL, more, Fisher] If settlement symptoms persist: Ted objects in Bayer class action [CCAF]
- “Will ‘Sea Change’ in Florida Class Action Standards Unleash Flood of Suits?” [Frank Cruz-Alvarez, WLF]
- N.D. Calif. hears so many food marketing class actions some have nicknamed it the “Food Court” [Vanessa Blum, The Recorder]
- “What’s Next For The Class Action Plaintiffs’ Bar? Getting Deputized By State Attorneys General” [Kevin Ranlett]
- “Ninth Circuit Decision and Dissenters Cry Out for SCOTUS Review on Cy Pres in Settlements” [WLF]
Tagged as:
arbitration,
class action settlements,
class actions,
cy pres,
Florida
“The expected amount left over for affected motorists is just $6″ and if motorists don’t file a claim, reversions go to defendant American Traffic Solutions (ATS). “More than 81,000 citations worth $10.2 million were issued in New Jersey through red light camera programs that were not in compliance with state law.” Lawyers who filed the suit are in line to collect $800,000. [The Newspaper; AnnMarie McDonald, NJLRA]
Tagged as:
class action settlements,
New Jersey,
red light cameras
- L.A. County assessor, though in jail, will keep drawing $197K salary plus raise [LAT]
- IRS lowers the regulatory boom on tax preparers [Institute for Justice video, auto-plays]
- On Wal-Mart Mexico bribery, NYT has a bit of a blind eye of its own [Stoll; earlier here, here, etc.]
- Another painful CPSIA regulation: CPSC on testing “representative samples” [Nancy Nord]
- “Popcorn lung” couple “won a $20 million judgment. Now, they’re broke.” [ABC]
- From Todd Zywicki: Libertarianism, Law and Economics, and the Common Law [SSRN via Bainbridge]
- If the courts disapprove of throttling internet speeds, what do they think of throttling class action claims redemption rates? [Ted Frank]
Tagged as:
class action settlements,
CPSC,
CPSIA,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,
Los Angeles,
taxes,
Wal-Mart
- Ted Frank on Whirlpool front-loading washer class action [PoL] $1.5 million for attorneys, $41,510 for class? Judge balks at Amex gift card settlement [same] EasySaver coupon settlement “conservatively” values coupons at 85% of face value [same]
- Cy pres: Roger Parloff on tech-defendant class-action cy pres [Fortune] Privacy groups nominated for cy pres windfall in Facebook settlement [Wired, PoL]
- “Class-Action Lawyers Face Triple Threat At Supreme Court” [Daniel Fisher at Forbes; related, Michael Bobelian]
- Georgia high court: company could be on hook for $456 million for sending junk faxes [UPI] Will unwanted text-message class actions be the sequel to junk-fax litigation? [Almeida, Sedgwick via WLF]
- “Class action summer camp” series from Andrew Trask includes refreshers on key concepts such as typicality, adequacy, etc.
- “Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Comcast” [Wajert, earlier]
- City of Des Moines class action: we owe it to ourselves [Iowa Appeals] For another case where there was high overlap between plaintiff class members and those expected to pay damages, see Sept. 2, 1999 [Milwaukee tainted municipal water system]
Tagged as:
class action settlements,
class actions,
coupon settlements,
cy pres,
Georgia,
Iowa,
Supreme Court
The judge found fault with a cy pres diversion of funds to charity. Ted Frank had criticized the settlement as leaving consumers in arguably a worse position than if the lawyers hadn’t sued. [Point of Law, earlier]
Tagged as:
class action settlements,
cy pres
- CFPB hopes to fix regulation that has prevented stay-home moms from getting credit [Bloomberg Business Week, earlier]
- Uncertified class action: “Federal judge orders cost-shifting for fishing expedition” [PoL] Ted Frank objects to $10 million fee in “cosmetic” Johnson & Johnson settlement [Daniel Fisher, PoL]
- “Accused of Providing Blank Arrest Warrants to Police, Georgia Magistrate Resigns” [ABA Journal]
- Lester Brickman, Peter Schuck in new podcast on Brickman’s book Lawyer Barons [Federalist Society]
- “Wright and Ginsburg on Behavioral Law & Economics” [NW Law Review and SSRN via Adler]
- “17th injury claim in 12 years got Chicago cop her disability deal” [Sun-Times]
- “Injured while working for the Empire? Call Lando Calrissian.” Law firm ad parody [YouTube]
Tagged as:
Chicago,
class action settlements,
Georgia,
humor,
Lester Brickman,
loser pays,
police
Ted’s successful 7th Circuit objection in June in a Sears shareholder class action (Easterbrook: “The only goal of this suit appears to be fees for the plaintiffs’ lawyers”), which raised widespread discussion, is just one in a string of wins for his Center for Class Action Fairness in recent months. In a settlement involving complaints against Classmates.com, the judge agreed with the arguments of CCAF client (and George Mason lawprof) Michael Krauss, rapped class counsel’s knuckles with a $100,000 sanction for discovery tactics that amounted to harassment (see section III-D), and ordered a better deal for class members [PoL] And in yet another noteworthy case: “The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a settlement of a class action over potentially leaky Volkswagen sunroofs that would have paid the lawyers who negotiated it $9.2 million in fees and the majority of car owners nothing.” [Daniel Fisher/Forbes, Ted at PoL, earlier]
Tagged as:
class action settlements,
discovery,
Ted Frank
“Could the only cash payment so far from a credit rating agency in shareholder litigation stemming from the financial crisis go entirely to plaintiffs’ lawyers? It’s entirely possible, based on documents filed this week in consolidated shareholder derivative litigation against Moody’s.” [Nate Raymond, Reuters]
Tagged as:
class action settlements,
Wall Street
Reuters reports:
A federal appeals court on Wednesday put the kibosh on a shareholder antitrust suit against the board members of Sears Holding Corp, finding that the suit only served to enrich the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
The ruling from the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit marks the latest victory for Ted Frank, of the Center for Class Action Fairness, who argued that the suit was an abuse of the legal system and conferred no benefit on Sears shareholders at large. The 7th Circuit agreed.
“The only goal of this suit appears to be fees for the plaintiffs’ lawyers,” Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel.
More: Dan Fisher.
Tagged as:
class action settlements,
Frank Easterbrook,
Ted Frank
- “MPAA: you can infringe copyright just by embedding a video” [Timothy Lee, Ars Technica]
- NYC: fee for court-appointed fire department race-bias monitor is rather steep [Reuters]
- Larry Schonbron on VW class action [Washington Times] Watch out, world: “U.S. class action lawyers look abroad” [Reuters] Deborah LaFetra, “Non-injury class actions don’t belong in federal court” [PLF]
- Will animal rights groups have to pay hefty legal bill after losing Ringling Bros. suit? [BLT]
- You shouldn’t need a lobbyist to build a house [Mead, Yglesias]
- “Astorino and Westchester Win Against Obama’s HUD” [Brennan, NRO] My two cents [City Journal] Why not abolish HUD? [Kaus]
- “Community organized breaking and entering,” Chicago style [Kevin Funnell; earlier, NYC]
Tagged as:
animal rights,
bloggers and the law,
Chicago,
class action settlements,
class actions,
fair housing,
land use and zoning,
loser pays,
mortgages,
movies film and videos,
NYC,
real estate
- How ObamaCare will drive up cost of contraception [Avik Roy] Better idea: sell Pill over the counter [Virginia Postrel, Bloomberg]
- Had been seized by authorities: obese 9-year-old returns home after dropping 50 pounds [Cleveland Plain Dealer, earlier]
- Best campaign funding mechanism ever? [Ron Paul Forums, JPG, more explanation; but is it lawful?]
- More appreciations of Bill Stuntz crimlaw book [Leon Neyfakh, Boston Globe, Stephen Smith and Jonathan Jacobs, Liberty and Law]
- Changes in court rules could curb Philadelphia’s allure for mass tort forum-shoppers [Alison Frankel, Reuters] “Further Empirical Evidence on Forum Shopping in Philadelphia Civil Courts” [Josh Wright, earlier]
- Coming: federal authority over private firms’ IT-security departments? [Jim Harper/Cato; Constantine von Hoffman/CIO]
- “0.1% claim rate in ‘successful’ class action” [Ted Frank/PoL, AT&T case]
Tagged as:
Child Protective Services,
class action settlements,
crime and punishment,
ObamaCare,
obesity,
Philadelphia
