Mealey's Class Actions
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November 14, 2024
Class, Wawa Ask 3rd Circuit To Affirm Attorney Fees Award In Data Breach Suit
PHILADELPHIA — Wawa Inc. and a group of consumers who sued it over a 2019 data breach filed briefs with the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals defending a $3 million attorney fees award that is part of a $9 million class action settlement agreement, asserting that the award was not the product of collusion and satisfies Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and asking the court to affirm the award and to reject objections a class member raises on his second appeal of the matter.
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November 14, 2024
Ovulation App Privacy Claims Against Analytics Firm Stayed Pending Settlement
SAN FRANCISCO — Putative class privacy claims against an analytics firm related to purported data sharing via the Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker app were stayed by a California federal judge, who granted a joint motion by the company and a group of the app’s users after they jointly announced a settlement of the claims.
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November 14, 2024
Split 9th Circuit Rules On Schools’ Standing To Challenge Loan Settlement
SAN FRANCISCO — Three for-profit universities that alleged that their inclusion on a settlement exhibit in a class case over the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) alleged backlog of hundreds of thousands of unprocessed applications for borrower defense relief damaged their reputation showed that they had standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution but lacked prudential standing to challenge final settlement approval, a split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled.
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November 14, 2024
Google Play Gift Card Scam Victim Says Discovery Should Continue Pending Amendment
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A putative class action plaintiff accusing Google LLC and affiliated companies of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to protect consumers from Google Play gift card scammers, whose complaint was recently dismissed with leave to amend, filed a brief in California federal court opposing the court’s reconsideration of a stay of discovery while she prepares an amended complaint.
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November 14, 2024
Employers Of Chauffeurs File Cross-Appeal After $2.5M Wage Settlement OK’d
PHOENIX — The employers of chauffeur drivers who brought a class and collective action wage-and-hour complaint in a federal court in Arizona filed a notice of cross-appeal as to judgment and nine orders issued over the course of four years; the filing followed final approval of a $2.5 million settlement between the drivers and the employers.
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November 14, 2024
Ill. County, Sheriff Ask U.S. High Court To Rule On Standing, Class Service Award
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Illinois county and sheriff accused by a former detainee of denying him and others sufficient dental care filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the justices to decide whether the detainee as a putative class representative has standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution to continue the litigation and seek an incentive award after receiving relief on his individual claims.
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November 13, 2024
Final Judgment For Class Is Entered In ERISA Row Over 1989 Plan Conversion
HOUSTON — More than seven months after issuing findings of fact and conclusions of law following the conclusion of a 14-day bench trial, a Texas federal judge on Nov. 12 granted final judgment for a class in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over the 1989 conversion of a retirement plan, briefly adopting “Defendants’ proposal regarding the appropriate form of equitable relief.”
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November 13, 2024
Dismissal Row In ERISA Health Plan Suit Involves Standing, Claim Requirements
MINNEAPOLIS — In Minnesota federal court, parties in a putative class action over alleged mismanagement of prescription drug benefits are disputing a dismissal bid focused on standing and whether fiduciary breach and prohibited transaction claims are sufficiently stated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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November 13, 2024
Law Firm’s $8M Global Data Breach Settlement Granted Final Approval
SAN FRANCISCO — An $8 million global class settlement to be paid by a law firm after its network was breached and the personally identifiable information (PII) of more than 630,000 individuals was potentially accessed was granted final approval on Nov. 12 by a federal judge in California.
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November 13, 2024
Objector Appeals After New York Times Auto-Renewal Class Settlement OK’d
NEW YORK — A class member who objected to a $2,375,000 settlement to be paid by The New York Times Co. to end a class complaint accusing the newspaper publisher of engaging in an illegal “automatic renewal” scheme filed a notice of appeal four weeks after final settlement approval was granted by a federal judge in New York.
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November 13, 2024
Live Nation, Ticketmaster Seek Rehearing After 9th Circuit’s Arbitration Ruling
PASADENA, Calif. — Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Ticketmaster LLC filed a petition for panel rehearing and/or rehearing en banc on Nov. 12 after a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a trial court’s denial of arbitration in a putative class complaint accusing the two companies of engaging in anticompetitive practices in online ticket sales.
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November 12, 2024
$115.5M In Real Estate Commissions Settlements Granted Preliminary, Final OK
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a pair of orders issued in a consolidated class action by home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and real estate franchises of conspiring to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions, a federal judge in Missouri granted preliminary approval of four settlements totaling $4,925,000 and final approval of nine settlements totaling $110.6 million.
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November 12, 2024
Mother Says Walmart’s ‘Hypoallergenic’ Baby Product Causes Contact Dermatitis
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California mother filed a putative class action lawsuit in California federal court accusing Walmart Inc. of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misleadingly labeling its baby petroleum jelly product for treating diaper rash and other skin conditions as “hypoallergenic” when it in fact contains fragrance-related ingredients that can cause babies to experience contact dermatitis.
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November 12, 2024
Law Firm’s $8M Data Breach Settlement Tentatively Approved; Fees Reviewed
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California issued a tentative ruling approving an $8 million class global settlement to be paid by a law firm after its network was breached and the personal identifiable information (PII) of more than 630,000 individuals was potentially accessed but questioned the specifics of the settlement terms and indicated that attorney fees were still being reviewed, according to civil minutes.
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November 11, 2024
Eye Drop Maker Agrees To Settle Claims Products Were Illegally Marketed
DENVER — A maker of a homeopathic eye drop has agreed to pay $3.57 million to settle class claims that it sold products without approval from U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to an unopposed motion filed in a Colorado federal court.
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November 11, 2024
Final OK Given To $5.5M Amazon COVID-19 Screenings Pay Class Settlement
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California granted final approval of a $5.5 million settlement between California workers and Amazon.com Services LLC, ending two cases in which the workers allege that they were denied pay for time spent undergoing COVID-19 symptom screenings before their shifts.
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November 11, 2024
Plaintiffs, Law Firm Seek Initial Approval Of $8.5M Data Breach Suit Settlement
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A former client and a former employee of a law firm filed a motion for preliminary approval of an $8.5 million settlement of their putative class claims over a 2022 data breach experienced by the firm, telling a Florida federal court that the proposed agreement provides for such remedies as credit monitoring and identity theft protection, in addition to monetary claims.
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November 11, 2024
Immigrant Separation Class Awarded More Than $6.4M In Attorney Fees, Costs
SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California awarded a class of immigrants separated from their children who sued the federal government and settled more than $6.4 million for attorney fees and expenses.
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November 11, 2024
Converse Website User Asks 9th Circuit To Find Wiretap Law Applies To Internet
SAN FRANCISCO — A California woman who claimed wiretap and privacy violations related to the customer chat feature on Converse Inc.’s website asks the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reinstate her putative class action, arguing that a trial court improperly disregarded her evidence that a third-party vendor intercepted and read chat communications in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).
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November 08, 2024
Judge Stands By Determination That ERISA Governs Deferred Compensation Plans
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has declined to alter or withdraw an Employee Retirement Income Security Act determination that financial services firm Morgan Stanley and related defendants said caused issues in derivative arbitrations; the unchanged November 2023 holding in the putative class action is that ERISA governs the compensation incentive and equity incentive plans at issue.
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November 08, 2024
Judge Consolidates Air Travelers’ Suits Against CrowdStrike For Outages
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal judge appointed interim lead counsel and consolidated two putative class complaints accusing tech company CrowdStrike Inc. of causing travelers to experience significant air travel delays by failing to properly test its cybersecurity software before issuing an update that allegedly caused 8.5 million computers and devices to go offline.
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November 08, 2024
Tentative Settlement Announced In CareFirst Data Breach Class Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eight days after a group of policyholders whose personally identifiable information (PII) was exposed in a data breach experienced by their insurer was denied the opportunity to appeal a class certification ruling, the plaintiffs and the insurer informed a District of Columbia federal court that a tentative settlement of the nine-year-old suit had been reached.
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November 08, 2024
Consumers, Target Agree To End Case Over Misleading ‘Non-Drowsy’ Medicine Label
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge dismissed claims by consumers who allege that Target Corp. misled its customers by labeling its cold medicine as “non-drowsy” after the parties filed a joint stipulation agreeing to settle the case.
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November 08, 2024
Dismissing ERISA Forfeiture Suit, Judge Aims To Narrow Future Briefing
OAKLAND, Calif. — In the latest of a handful of rulings on dismissal motions in similar Employee Retirement Income Security Act suits over use of forfeited nonvested retirement plan contributions, a California federal judge granted dismissal of all claims with limited leave to amend.
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November 07, 2024
Justices Question Facebook, Investors Over Disclosing Data-Sharing Incident
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In oral arguments held Nov. 6 in the U.S. Supreme Court, attorneys for Facebook Inc. (now known as Meta Platforms Inc.) and a group of its investors fielded queries about whether Facebook’s failure to disclose its past sharing of users’ data with a third-party analytics firm in risk statements constituted securities fraud because the incident amounted to a risk of future harm.