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

Mealey's Class Actions

November 22, 2024
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Putative Class Cloud Product Statement Claims

HONOLULU — An investor who alleged in an amended putative class complaint that a software company made false statements about its cloud products failed to sufficiently define cloud-related phrases and failed to show that an additional opportunity to amend his complaint would be anything other than futile, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming dismissal.
November 21, 2024
U.S. High Court Is Again Asked To Review An ERISA Effective Vindication Decision

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Arguing in part that “statutory construction errors caused the Sixth Circuit to find that a participant has a statutory right to represent other participants’ financial interests that Congress did not provide for” in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 401(k) plan fiduciaries asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision involving application of the effective vindication doctrine.
November 21, 2024
Zyn Maker Accused Of Anticompetitive Tactics To Dominate Nicotine Pouch Market

RICHMOND, Va. — A Zyn nicotine pouch consumer filed a putative class action in Virginia federal court accusing the pouch’s maker of violating state and federal antitrust laws and of unjust enrichment for allegedly conspiring with another tobacco company to create a monopoly, as well as intentionally slowing production of Zyns to artificially increase prices.
November 21, 2024
Split 6th Circuit Reverses Dismissal Of ERISA Funds, Share Classes Challenge

CINCINNATI — A split Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 20 revived a challenge to a retirement plan’s retention of the passively managed Northern Trust Focus Funds suite of target date funds (TDFs) and choice of share classes, with the majority saying in part that the dissent sets “an inappropriately exacting standard” and the dissenter opining that “my colleagues open the door to ‘speculative’” lawsuits.
September 17, 2024
23andMe Asks MDL Judge To Approve $30M Data Breach Settlement

SAN FRANCISCO — Genetic data company 23andMe Inc. filed a brief urging the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to grant preliminary approval to a $30 million settlement to resolve claims in a multidistrict litigation brought by plaintiffs whose genetic data on 23andMe’s website was hacked and offered for sale online and asking the court to enjoin separate litigation and arbitrations brought against it for the breach that it says could “jeopardize . . . the Settlement.”
November 21, 2024
Some 23andMe Users Seek Arbitration, Not Class Action, For Data Breach Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — In a brief filed in California federal court, several users of 23andMe Inc.’s website defend their right to pursue arbitration against the company for the theft of their genetic information by hackers, arguing that their decision to arbitrate defeats any typicality of claims between them and class members in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) over the theft and makes preliminary approval of a settlement of the MDL inappropriate.
November 21, 2024
Texas Judge OKs Settlement Reimbursing University Data Breach Victims’ Losses

SAN ANTONIO — An agreement in which a university agrees to reimburse ordinary and extraordinary losses that class members suffered due to a 2022 data breach was deemed “fair, reasonable, and adequate” by a Texas judge as she granted final approval to the settlement of negligence and privacy class claims over the incident.
November 20, 2024
Plaintiffs: Health Care Pricing Algorithm Just High-Tech Price Fixing

CHICAGO — A consolidated amended class action filed in multidistrict litigation in an Illinois federal court claims that Multiplan Inc. and others rely on allegedly algorithmic repricing of out-of-network health claims to keep prices artificially low and that it is really just a “technological smokescreen for traditional price fixing.”
November 20, 2024
Jury Demand Struck In ERISA Class Action Over Plans’ Use Of TDFs

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge briefly granted a motion to strike the plaintiffs’ jury demand in a class action challenging the inclusion of certain target date funds (TDFs) in four defined-contribution pension benefit plans the plaintiffs have said all had “thousands of participants” during the time at issue.
November 20, 2024
Expert Testimony Trimmed, Class Certification Granted In Defective Windshield Case

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge limited expert testimony in a proposed class action suit alleging that Kia Motors America Inc. knew that its windshields were defective but failed to disclose it to consumers.
November 20, 2024
Final Approval Given To $115 Million Settlement Of Oracle Data Collection Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A $115 million settlement of privacy class claims over data collection and brokerage activities conducted by Oracle America Inc. was found to provide “substantial benefits” to the class by a California federal judge, who granted final approval of the settlement over 28 objections received by class members.
November 19, 2024
$65 Million Data Breach Settlement By Pennsylvania Health Provider Given Final OK

SCRANTON, Pa. — A Pennsylvania judge granted final approval of a $65 million settlement to be paid by Lehigh Valley Health Network Inc. (LVHN) to end a class complaint alleging that a February 2023 data breach resulted in the disclosure of personal information and medical records, including nude photographs.
November 19, 2024
Company To High Court: TCPA Case Is ‘Poor Vehicle’ To Rule On Class Feasibility

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A staffing agency’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) case presents “an exceedingly poor vehicle” for the U.S. Supreme Court to address the first question regarding the feasibility of class certification, and the agency’s second question, regarding “interpretation of the TCPA, is not suitable for review,” a financial services company argues in a Nov. 18 opposition brief.
November 19, 2024
2 Claims Over Hospitals’ Data Sharing Dismissed; 4 Claims Survive

PORTLAND, Ore. — A woman’s claims over a hospital chain’s purported sharing of her protected health information (PHI) were partly dismissed, with an Oregon federal judge finding claims for breach of implied contract and intrusion upon seclusion not sufficiently alleged, while giving the green light to four other putative class claims related to such data being allegedly shared with Meta Platforms Inc. and Google Inc.
November 19, 2024
Chiropractic Practice: Court Doesn’t Have To Accept FCC’s TCPA Interpretation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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 the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) prohibited faxes, a chiropractic practice argues in its petitioner brief filed Nov. 18 in the U.S. Supreme Court.
November 19, 2024
Federal Class Action Complaint Accuses Auto Insurer, Law Firm Of Barratry

HOUSTON — Insureds filed a class action complaint in a Texas federal court against an automobile insurer and a law firm alleging that they committed barratry, conspiracy and statutory violations by illegally sharing the personal information of car accident victims for solicitation.
November 18, 2024
Retirees Seek 6th Circuit Revival Of ERISA Suit Over Mortality Tables

CINCINNATI — Parties in an appeal that drew an amicus brief are arguing over whether part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act requires “reasonable assumptions” in calculating certain pension benefits, with retirees filing a reply brief urging the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to “join the vast majority of other courts that have rejected Defendants’ interpretation.”
November 18, 2024
Class Settlement, Separate Fee Award Approved In ERISA Statements Penalty Case

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — An Alabama federal judge approved a $253,700 class settlement and a separate award of $265,000 for attorney fees and costs in what the plaintiffs said “appears to be the first ever class-wide settlement for penalties related to a defendant’s failure to provide annual pension benefit statements to participants” under a provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
November 18, 2024
Service Awards, Attorney Fees At Issue In Meta Privacy Suit Certiorari Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) and a group of Facebook users who sued over the social network’s tracking of their online activity were both given additional time by the U.S. Supreme Court to respond to a petition for certiorari by a class member who objects to awards for attorney fees and class representative service awards that were part of a $90 million settlement of the privacy class action.
November 18, 2024
Former Jailed Worker Waives Response To Maryland County’s Wage-And-Hour Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former detainee who brought collective and class wage-and-hour claims against a Maryland county waived his right to respond to Baltimore County’s petition for a writ of certiorari that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to decide “[w]hether inmates working in furtherance of public works projects for the government charged with their custody and care” are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
November 15, 2024
Gamers Bring Class Suit Against Developers For Online Racing Game’s Shutdown

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two video game players filed a putative class action lawsuit in California federal court accusing developers of an online racing video game known as The Crew of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by shutting down servers to the game, thereby terminating players’ access to the game permanently, which they compare in their suit to a manufacturer coming “into your home” and removing a product you previously paid for.
November 15, 2024
Majority Affirms Ruling In Last Resort Insurer’s Favor In Hurricane Coverage Suit

BATON ROUGE, La. — A majority of a First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal panel held that a lower court properly interpreted the state Legislature's amendment of Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 22:1892(H) by Act 290 to be a procedural change that applied retroactively and, as a result, eliminated any class action for damages, including bad faith penalties, brought against the state’s insurer of last resort.
November 15, 2024
Correction Of $92M Attorney Fee Sought In Insurers’ ACA Dispute With Government

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Objecting class members and class counsel on Nov. 14 urged the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to correct the $92,424,335.84 judgment awarded to class counsel in a risk-corridor payment dispute under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), with class counsel arguing that the attorney fee owed to it should come from the nondispute subclasses
November 15, 2024
$7.1M Class Settlement Of Suit Over ESOP Deals Wins Preliminary Approval

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — An Illinois federal judge on Nov. 14 granted preliminary approval to a $7.1 million class settlement that plaintiffs who sued over 2012 and 2013 employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) deals said would amount to “20% of the most conservative estimate of losses.”
November 14, 2024
Baby Bottle Makers Seek Dismissal Of Consumers’ Claims Over Undisclosed Microplastics

SAN FRANCISCO — Two plastic baby bottle makers moved to dismiss separate putative class action complaints brought against them in California federal court by mothers who say the companies violate California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by failing to disclose the risk that their baby bottles and sippy cups “leach harmful microplastics directly into the food and drink of vulnerable babies and young children.”