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Class action roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:05:04 +0000

“David Marcus on The History of the Modern Class Action” [Andrew Trask]
Ted Frank profiled [American Lawyer] Related: “Expert in legal-fee fight blasts ‘make believe’ game over cost of contract lawyers to do doc review” [ABA Journal; CCAF on games case]
“Statutory Penalties and Class Actions: Social Justice or Legalized Extortion?” [Paul Karlsgodt, DULR Online]
Lawyers in Ford Explorer case claimed $500M benefit to class, on way to pocketing $25M fee; actual coupon redemptions $74,000 [Lawrence Schonbrun, American Thinker]
Genesis Health Care Corp. v. Symczyk: can defendant moot class action by settling lead plaintiff’s complaint? [Karlsgodt, Trask, Fed Soc]
Incentive problems of cy pres: a mini-roundup [Jennifer Johnston comment, JLEP, via Trask, Alison Frankel/Reuters on Ben & Jerry's case, PoL on U. of South Carolina, Daniel Fisher on Facebook case]
Reactions to SCOTUS ruling in Comcast v. Behrend [Richard Epstein, Point of Law; Max Kennerly with a plaintiff's view; Fed Soc podcast with Ken Lee (Jenner & Block); Manhattan Institute podcast with Ted Frank]

Tags: class actions, cy pres, South Carolina, Supreme Court, Ted Frank

Class action roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Lululemon shareholder suit cites too-sheer garment

Walter Olson — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:16:39 +0000

“A retirement fund for police and firefighters in Florida is suing Lululemon Athletica Inc., taking issue with a decision by Lululemon’s compensation committee to boost the maximum payout of the executive bonus plan just before a $60 million recall of yoga pants.” [New York Post]

Tags: apparel, class actions

Lululemon shareholder suit cites too-sheer garment is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Class action against NYC’s Met Museum

Walter Olson — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:45:37 +0000

The cultural institution doesn’t make clear enough to visitors that its admission donation is only recommended, according to the lawyers [NY Daily News]

Tags: art and artists, class actions, NYC

Class action against NYC’s Met Museum is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Comcast Corp. v. Behrend

Walter Olson — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:27:39 +0000

As I noted in this morning’s roundup, the Supreme Court spoke on Wednesday about class certification in an antitrust case from Philadelphia. Although a rather narrow and technical ruling it was not devoid of interest, or so I argue in a new post at Cato at Liberty.

Tags: antitrust, class actions, Supreme Court, WO writings

Comcast Corp. v. Behrend is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Class action roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:06:36 +0000

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]

Tags: arbitration, class action settlements, class actions, cy pres, Florida

Class action roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Class action confidential

Walter Olson — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:09:21 +0000

Never mind the (alleged by former employee) lurid sex stuff, says Daniel Fisher, let’s talk about this law firm’s shortcomings in filing securities actions [Forbes]

Tags: class actions, securities litigation

Class action confidential is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Class action reform proposed in Arizona

Walter Olson — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 04:18:31 +0000

Paul Karlsgodt at Class Action Blawg reports that the bill “sets forth some specific requirements for class certification that are much more exacting than those required under federal Rule 23 and most state class action rules” and summarizes the provisions as follows (quoting directly):

clear and convincing evidence would be required to justify a grant of class certification
orders granting class certification would have to be supported by a detailed written statement of the reasons and evidence justifying the decision
in assessing superiority, the court would be required to consider, among other things, ”whether it is probable that the amount which may be recovered by individual class members will be large enough in relation to the expense and effort of administering the action to justify maintaining the case as a class action”
there would be a rebuttable presumption against class certification in cases involving claims where individual knowledge, causation, and reliance are required elements
certification of a case as a class action would not relieve any class member of the requirement of proving individual injury or damages
class notice must include a statement of ”the possible financial consequences for the class”
the law would expressly provide that the plaintiff would bear the initial cost of distributing notice to the class
appeals from orders granting or denying class certification could be taken as a matter of right the same as a final judgment, and trial court proceedings would be automatically stayed pending the appeal.

Tags: Arizona, class actions

Class action reform proposed in Arizona is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Class action roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:06:35 +0000

Pursuing well-worn script following exposure of fib-laden memoirs, class action lawyers sue demanding reader refunds for Lance Armstrong autobiography [ABA Journal]
Adventures of Ted Frank’s CCAF: Easy Saver coupon settlement; Southwest Airlines drink voucher; Asus Computer dongle giveaway. Plus: “Citigroup Plaintiff Lawyers Fire Back At Fee Objectors” [Daniel Fisher, Forbes]
Wrongful termination complaint contains its share of juicy allegations regarding well-known plaintiff’s firm Hausfeld LLP [Andrew Trask]
Calif.: “Judges Accuse Class Lawyers of Misconduct” [The Recorder; The Complex Litigator (Clarke v. First Transit, PDF)]
Aiming to undermine Concepcion ruling, plaintiff lawyers seek to overwhelm system with arbitration demands [Reuters, earlier]
How to get your class action settlement disapproved by the judge [Andrew Trask]
“Papa John’s Facing $250 Million Text Message Spam Lawsuit” [PC Mag]