Mealey's Class Actions : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Class Actions

December 09, 2024
U.S. High Court Won’t Review Big ERISA Multiplan Opt-Out Class Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9 declined to review a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that three service providers said “raises serious constitutional concerns as to the allowable breadth of class actions brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands of participants in thousands of unrelated employer-sponsored [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] benefit plans.”
December 06, 2024
Residents Say 3M Is Liable For ‘Wanton’ Conduct That Tainted Water With PFAS

MADISON, Wis. — Residents have filed a putative class action against 3M Co. in Wisconsin federal court seeking punitive damages for groundwater contamination they say is the result of “willful, wanton, malicious, and/or reckless conduct” in connection with 3M’s operation of a quarry and a facility where roofing shingles containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been created and disposed of for decades.
December 06, 2024
$2.5M Class Settlement Would Be Almost 17% Of Max Damages, ERISA Plaintiffs Say

OAKLAND, Calif. — Plaintiffs challenging a 401(k) plan’s record-keeping fees and fund offerings under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act have asked a California federal court for preliminary approval of a $2.5 million class settlement they say works out to about 16.86% of their “maximum possible damages.”
December 06, 2024
‘Wicked’ Dolls Led Daughter To Pornographic Website, Mother Claims

LOS ANGELES — A mother filed a putative class action against toymaker Mattel Inc. accusing the company of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws due to its products, specifically dolls of characters from the movie “Wicked,” being labeled with a link to a pornographic website, writing that her minor daughter was “horrified” when she visited the link printed on the box of the toy.
December 06, 2024
Google, Advertising Developer Denied Early Appeal Of Minors’ Data Collection Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied Google LLC and its advertising subsidiaries’ motion to certify for interlocutory appeal the court’s earlier order denying their motion to dismiss a nationwide putative class action brought by minors under 13 who say their personal data was unlawfully collected, finding that the issues involved don’t warrant an early appeal.
December 05, 2024
$30M 23andMe Data Breach Settlement Gets Court’s Conditional Preliminary OK

SAN FRANCISCO — The California federal judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation involving claims against genetic testing company 23andMe Inc. for failing to protecting users’ data from hackers granted preliminary approval on Dec. 4 to a $30 million settlement of the claims on the condition that the plaintiffs amend their definition of the settlement class to exclude parties who are pursuing arbitration and despite “serious concerns” with the plaintiffs’ $7.5 million attorney fees request.
December 05, 2024
Class Counsel Confirms $92M Was Wired To Administrator In Insurers’ ACA Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a federal judge entered an order requiring class counsel to return “$92,424,335.84, the excess of the $184,848,671.67 previously distributed for fees over the current fee award,” counsel filed a notice in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims confirming that it wired the $92,424,335.84 to nondispute subclass members in a risk-corridor payment dispute under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
December 05, 2024
Target Denied Dismissal, Sanctions In Facial Scanning Privacy Class Complaint

CHICAGO — Four customers of Target Corp. have sufficiently alleged violation of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) via the use of in-store facial recognition technology, an Illinois federal judge found, denying the retail giant’s motions to dismiss and for sanctions in light of the early stage of litigation and the undeveloped record.
December 04, 2024
Magistrate Judge Approves $65M Deal In Securities Case Against Fracking Operator

HOUSTON — A federal magistrate judge in Texas issued a final judgment and order of dismissal after approving a $65 million settlement in a securities fraud lawsuit investors brought against a hydraulic fracturing operator.
December 04, 2024
Scienter Is Focus Of Dismissal Arguments In Securities Suit Involving Reinsurance

NEW YORK — Scienter is the key issue in dismissal arguments in a putative class action, with the named plaintiff telling a New York federal court that “improperly accounting for reinsurance premiums” led to material overstatements and investors were also misled on “internal controls,” and the defendants challenging “the misguided assumption that the Company’s identification of an accounting error and weakness in internal controls necessarily equates to securities fraud.”
December 04, 2024
Company Seeks Contempt Ruling For Residents In Fracking Waste Pollution Case

PITTSBURGH — A hydraulic fracturing operator on Dec. 3 filed a reply brief in Pennsylvania federal court arguing that a putative class of residents who argue that their water supply has been contaminated by fracking waste fluid “persist in their effort to conceal” data related to the report of one of their experts. The fracking operator says the residents should produce the complete data or be prevented from using the expert that relies on that data.
December 04, 2024
Government Files Amicus Brief Urging Reversal Of 2nd Circuit ERISA Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A day after the U.S. government filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting petitioners on the question of what is necessary to state an Employee Retirement Income Security Act claim for a prohibited transaction between a plan and a party in interest, the petitioners on Dec. 3 submitted a corrected merits brief.
December 04, 2024
$8.85 Million Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream Labeling Class Settlement Approved

BRONX, N.Y. — A New York justice granted final approval of an $8.85 million class settlement between Conopco Inc., Unilever United States Inc. and consumers who alleged that the defendants’ Breyers “Natural Vanilla” ice cream is misleadingly marketed as containing only vanilla flavor derived from the vanilla plant.
December 04, 2024
Coalition, Group Support Arguments In High Court On FCC’s TCPA Interpretation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of national local government organizations and a consumer advocacy organization filed separate amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting arguments by a chiropractic practice that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred when it determined that a trial court must accept the Federal Communications Commission’s interpretation of what constitutes faxes prohibited by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
December 04, 2024
Jackson Hewitt $10.8M Wage Suppression Class Settlement Granted Final OK

NEWARK, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey granted final approval of a $10.8 million settlement in a class complaint by individuals who worked for a tax preparation franchisor or franchisees and alleged that there was a conspiracy to suppress compensation via no-poach agreements and issued an order granting attorney fees, expenses and service awards.
December 04, 2024
6th Circuit Vacates Certification Of 10 Classes In Nissan Auto Braking Case

CINCINNATI — Consumers who allege that various vehicles manufactured by Nissan North America Inc. and Nissan Motor Company Ltd. (together, Nissan) have defective automatic braking systems failed to sufficiently establish commonality when moving for class certification, and the lower court failed to perform the appropriate analysis of challenged expert testimony, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, vacating a trial court’s certification of 10 classes.
December 04, 2024
Settlements Of More Than $204M Approved In Tuna Price-Fixing Case

SAN DIEGO — More than $204 million in settlements in a multidistrict litigation accusing tuna producers of engaging in a price-fixing conspiracy were granted final approval by a federal judge in California who issued those orders along with several granting attorney fees to the purchasers over the course of one week.
December 03, 2024
In Partial Reversal, Judge Addresses Standing In ERISA Pension Calculation Row

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Partly reversing an earlier ruling in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act dispute over using a half-century-old mortality table to calculate joint and survivor annuities (JSAs), a New York federal judge allowed claims asserted on behalf of the plan to proceed in the putative class action while the plaintiffs’ individual claims are arbitrated.
December 03, 2024
Costs Approved After University’s Pandemic Closure Class Settlement Finalized

PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania approved litigation expenses in a student’s class lawsuit over the transition of in-person to online learning due to the coronavirus pandemic; the order was filed just over a week after the $1,153,880 settlement was granted final approval.
December 03, 2024
Angelos, Asbestos Claimants Resolve Asbestos Malpractice Claims For $57M

BALTIMORE — A judge in Maryland granted final approval of a $57 million settlement resolving asbestos claimants’ legal malpractice claims stemming from Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos PC’s failure to file timely actions after learning about insurance proceeds available in a settlement.
December 03, 2024
Judge Chides Data Breach Attorneys For ‘Sub-Par’ Work, Reduces Fees Award

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Despite granting final approval to a $1.5 million settlement of a lawsuit over a health care services provider’s 2022 data breach, as well as the plaintiffs’ requests for service awards and cost reimbursements, a Connecticut federal judge reduced the requested attorney fees award for using “very, very high” rates in light of “significant errors” by plaintiffs’ counsel.
December 02, 2024
Class Certification Denied For Lack Of Adequacy In Twitter Arbitration Fee Fight

OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California denied a motion for class certification filed by former Twitter Inc. employees who have sought to compel arbitration against Twitter and X Corp. but have been unable to proceed in part due to Twitter and X’s refusal to pay the required fees, opining that the workers have not show they can adequately represent the proposed class.
December 02, 2024
High Court’s Look At ERISA Prohibited Transaction Ruling Draws Amicus Input

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four amicus curiae briefs, the most recent filed Nov. 27, have been filed in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the petitioners in the high court’s review of what is necessary to state an Employee Retirement Income Security Act claim for a prohibited transaction between a plan fiduciary and a party in interest.
December 02, 2024
$5M Class Settlement In ERISA Fees, Funds Case Gets Preliminary Approval

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a $5 million class settlement in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenging a multiemployer retirement plan’s fund choices, share classes and record-keeping fees.
December 02, 2024
Nearly $700M Of Settlements In Real Estate Commissions Case Granted Final Approval

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri on Nov. 27 granted final approval of nearly $700 million in settlements by the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) and others in a real estate commission class lawsuit accusing NAR and real estate franchises of conspiring to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.