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

Mealey's Class Actions

May 01, 2024
Jewish Student’s Class Suit Alleges Protests Cause Unsafe Environment At Columbia

NEW YORK — Columbia University trustees have failed to ensure that students are safe and that their education has not been disrupted following the April 18 creation of a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus by protestors, a Jewish student referred to only by her initials alleges in a class complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed in a federal court in New York.
May 01, 2024
Judge Awards $300,000 In Attorney Fees 3 Years After Retail Voucher Settlement

SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge on April 30 granted in part plaintiffs’ motion for attorney fees arising from a 2021 voucher class settlement agreed to by a children’s clothing retailer that was accused of advertising false “original” prices when discounting its merchandise in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other state laws.
May 01, 2024
9th Circuit Panel Affirms Dismissal With Prejudice Of UCL Asbestos-Talc Claims

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Plaintiffs in a class action “littered” a fifth amended complaint with descriptions of advertisements, but many appear unrelated to the asbestos-talc claims underpinning the California unfair competition law (UCL) allegations or lack the necessary evidence of reliance, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in an unpublished memorandum affirming summary judgment for the defendants.
May 01, 2024
California Chick-fil-A Delivery Price Class Suit Dismissed After Settlement In Ga.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Chick-fil-A Inc. and a customer who brought a class complaint over the fast food company’s delivery prices filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice in a federal court in California after the claims were resolved as part of a settlement approved by a Georgia court in February; the California case had been stayed pending settlement since October 2022.
May 01, 2024
Government, Health Plans Brief Tolling Opt-In Class Cases In ACA Reinsurance Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In supplemental briefing in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in consolidated cases over allegedly illegal exactions made under the Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), group health plans and the government agree that there’s a dearth of case law on American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah tolling for opt-in classes.
May 01, 2024
$42.1M Attorney Fees, Final Approval Sought In Class ACA Reinsurance Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — None of the 357 class members has objected to a $169,022,397.28 settlement that would resolve part of a lawsuit over the Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) or a request that class counsel get 25% of that amount for attorney fees, the class representative told the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in a reply brief.
April 30, 2024
Judge Reconsiders, Reverses Dismissal Of ECOA, FHA Claims In Reverse Redlining Suit

FLINT, Mich. — Ruling on the plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration, a federal judge in Michigan reversed the dismissal of Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) claims against lenders and agents in a putative class action alleging reverse redlining. The plaintiffs had argued that the court erred in dismissing the claims without addressing their disparate treatment claim.
April 30, 2024
5th Circuit Vacates Class Certification In Oil Company Securities Suit

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a class certification order issued by a federal judge in Texas in a securities action brought by investors against a petroleum corporation and certain of its executives, finding that the judge erred by not allowing the petroleum company to file a sur-reply after the investors included evidence for the first time in a reply brief.
April 30, 2024
Compass, Douglas Elliman, Others Agree To Settle Commissions Conspiracy Claims

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and a number of real estate franchisors and brokers of violating the Sherman Act by entering into an agreement to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions filed a motion in a federal court in Missouri on April 29 seeking preliminary approval of an up to $96 million settlement with five of the named defendants.
April 30, 2024
HomeServices To Settle Commissions Claims On Heels Of NAR $418M Agreement

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The deadlines and proceedings in a real estate commission conspiracy class lawsuit in a federal court in Missouri that are related to HomeServices of America Inc., BHH Affiliates and HSF Affiliates LLC (together, HomeServices) were stayed in an April 29 docket entry, one business day after HomeServices filed a notice of pending settlement and joint motion to stay; HomeServices’ settlement announcement came three days after a $418 million settlement by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was preliminarily approved.
April 30, 2024
Judge Gives Initial Nod To $9.4M White Castle Finger Scan Class Action Settlement

CHICAGO — A $9.4 million settlement between White Castle System Inc. and an employee who sued the fast food company for its finger scan policy received preliminary approval from an Illinois federal judge, who deemed the estimated $968 per class member payment to be “substantial relief” for the purported violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by their employer.
April 30, 2024
Roblox Moves To Dismiss Or Arbitrate ‘Child Labor’ Claims In Class Action Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The online gaming company Roblox Corp. filed motions in a California federal court to dismiss and compel arbitration of claims brought against it by parents of Roblox players who accuse it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by designing its game to addict kids and allegedly profiting off of a “child labor market” wherein minor users perform online tasks in return for Robux.
April 29, 2024
Class Counsel Motions Sealed As $185M Settlement Mulled In Mortgage Suits

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal magistrate judge in Ohio directed that two motions for appointment of class counsel filed in related suits accusing Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and Wells Fargo and Co. (together, Wells Fargo) of violating state and federal law by engaging in a scheme to place borrowers into a forbearance program during the COVID-19 pandemic be temporarily sealed pending resolution of the motions to seal; the order came just over a week after the plaintiffs in both cases filed a joint motion for preliminary approval of a $185 million settlement.
April 29, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek Approval Of $600M Settlement Of Train Derailment Lawsuit In Ohio

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The co-lead counsel for plaintiffs filed a brief in Ohio federal court on April 26 supporting a motion for preliminary approval of a $600 million settlement to resolve the class action against Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. (Norfolk Southern, collectively) pertaining to alleged injuries from the release of toxic chemicals at the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio; a third-party lawsuit among Norfolk Southern and railcar companies continues.
April 29, 2024
High Court Won’t Decide ‘Average’ Class Damages Issue In Chili’s Data Breach Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A question about the propriety of using an “average” damages amount suggested by the plaintiffs’ damages expert to certify a class will go unheard by the U.S. Supreme Court, which in its April 29 order list denied a petition for certiorari by the owner of the Chili’s restaurant chain, which protested the possibility that customers who suffered no damages at all in a 2018 data breach would still receive these damages awards.
April 29, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Federal Jurisdiction Question In Pet Food Class Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 29 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by two pet food companies accused of misleading consumers on the quality and value of prescription pet food and seeking a ruling on whether federal question subject matter jurisdiction can be defeated with an amended complaint and if such an amendment “precludes a district court from exercising supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiff’s remaining state-law claims.”
April 29, 2024
Texas High Court: Pandemic Act Applies Retroactively To School Closure Class Suit

AUSTIN, Texas — The retroactive application of Texas’ Pandemic Liability Protection Act (PLPA) to a university student’s breach of contract claim in a putative class complaint over the school’s closure during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic does not violate the Texas Constitution, the state’s highest court ruled April 26, answering a question certified by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
April 26, 2024
$3.58M Settlement Granted Final Approval In Mortgage Pay-To-Pay Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal magistrate judge in the District of Columbia on April 25 granted final approval of a $3,587,254 class settlement to be paid by Nationstar Mortgage LLC, doing business as Mr. Cooper, to end a complaint over the company’s practice of charging mortgagors “convenience fees” to pay their mortgage over the phone.
April 25, 2024
Lead Plaintiffs Selected For Securities Complaint Over Boeing’s Safety Record

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia appointed a retirement system and a pension fund to serve as lead plaintiffs in a putative class complaint originally filed by the retirement system on behalf of investors of the Boeing Co. alleging that the company and certain of its executives made misleading statements about the safety of the company’s 737 MAX airplane.
April 25, 2024
Panel Gives Georgetown University, Plan Fiduciaries Win In ERISA Imprudence Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an unpublished per curiam judgment in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case over alleged imprudence by Georgetown University and fiduciaries of its retirement plans, a District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld dismissal of the complaint and denial of leave to file an amended complaint.
April 25, 2024
U.S. High Court Will Decide Prevailing Party Questions In Attorney Fees Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the commissioner of the Viriginia Department of Motor Vehicles after a divided Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Virginians who filed a putative class complaint challenging a now repealed statute regarding the suspension of driver’s licenses were the prevailing parties in their case ultimately ruled to be moot and may seek attorney fees.
April 25, 2024
National Association Of Realtors’ $418M Commissions Settlement Gets Preliminary OK

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A proposed $418 million nationwide settlement by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in a class lawsuit accusing NAR and real estate franchisors of engaging in a commission conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act that will resolve claims by home sellers in multiple cases was granted preliminary approval by a federal judge in Missouri.
April 25, 2024
Ariz. Federal Judge: Expert Can Estimate Unpaid Wages In Suit By Class Of Drivers

PHOENIX — A forensic accounting expert retained by the operator of a fleet of chauffeured transportation services can testify, an Arizona federal judge ruled, denying a motion filed by a class of drivers who sued for wage violations.
April 24, 2024
Home Buyer’s FCRA Class Suit Alleging Faulty Credit Reports Settled For $96,000

PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona largely granted final approval of $96,000 class settlement agreement in a lawsuit by a home buyer accusing a credit reporting company of failing to ensure that it was providing accurate credit reports after it reported him and others as “deceased,” opining that each of the 67 class members, down from the original estimate of 91, is entitled to receive the maximum statutory amount of $1,000 but that the $24,000 remaining that the lead plaintiff sought to distribute to the class members as “additional compensatory damages” will instead go to the parties’ cy pres recipient as there was no proof of additional actual damages or an agreement for punitive damages.
April 24, 2024
$12.25M Settlement Approved In Neighborhood Class’s Case Over Smokestack Demolition

CHICAGO — A federal magistrate judge in Illinois granted final approval of a $12.25 million settlement between the companies that caused a smokestack to be demolished at a coal power plant in a Chicago neighborhood and a class of residents in that neighborhood who alleged that they were exposed to a “plume of toxic debris and particulate matter” as a result of the demolition, causing breathing issues.