In preparing for our webinar on the use of statistics in class actions tomorrow, I discovered that the California Supreme Court has granted review in Duran v. U.S. Bank, a case that could have major implications for the future of statistical sampling as common proof in class actions. See my April 6, 2012 post titled Trial [...]
Posts Tagged ‘class action’
California Supreme Court to Weigh in on Statistical Sampling in Class Actions
Posted in Class Action Decisions, Class Action Trends, tagged brinker, california supreme court, class action, class certification, duran, inference, regression, sampling, statistical evidence, statistics, statistics in class actions, trial by formula, wage and hour on May 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
First Circuit Lays Down Ground Rules for Cy Pres Awards
Posted in Class Action Settlements, tagged atochem, class action, class action settlement, class members, cy pres, elf, escheat, fifth circuit, first circuit, klier, lupron, pro-rata, reversion, settlement fund, unclaimed funds on May 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Editor’s Note: The following is a post that I contributed to the Baker Hostetler Class Action Lawsuit Defense Blog. Please be sure to visit the firm’s blog for more great class-action related content! What to do with unclaimed settlement funds is a common problem facing class action litigants. There are at least four methods of [...]
Obtaining Early Resolution on the Merits in a Class Action May Be a Pyrrhic Victory
Posted in Practice Tips, tagged 12(b)(6), class action, class certification, decertification, demurrer, dispositive motion, judgment on the pleadings, matter of law, motion to dismiss, practice tip, summary judgment on April 15, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Conventional wisdom says that a defendant should move to dismiss a class action complaint if there are grounds to do so. Motions to dismiss have many potential strategic benefits beyond the mere possibility of an early victory, including allowing the defendant to avoid expensive discovery pending resolution of key threshold legal issues, providing an early opportunity to [...]
Another Viewpoint on “Trial by Formula”
Posted in Class Action Trends, tagged class action, drogin, dukes, lahav, mass action, mass tort, sampling, statistical method, statistics, trial by formula, wal-mart on April 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
For those of you interested in the topic of statistics in mass and class actions, U. Conn. Law Professor and Mass Tort Litigation Blog contributor Alexandra D. Lahav has written an academic paper on the subject in the Texas Law Review, aptly entitled The Case for “Trial by Formula.” For Professor Lahav’s synopsis of the paper, a link to [...]
Securities Class Action Business Not Booming, Says Cornerstone Research
Posted in Class Action Trends, Reports and Surveys, Securities Class Actions, tagged class action, class action settlement, cornerstone research, pslra, reform act, securities class action, settlement trends, slusa on March 14, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Cornerstone Research has published a new study on trends in securities class action settlements concluding that the total number of securities class action settlements, the total amount of settlement dollars, and the average settlement value, fell to their lowest levels in 10 years in 2011. Michael J. de la Merced of the New York Times authored this article summarizing the study’s [...]
More on Posner’s McReynolds Decision
Posted in Class Action Decisions, Class Action News, Class Action Trends, Commentary, Employment Class Actions, tagged class action, disparate impact, dukes, employment class action, employment discrimination, issue certifiication, mcreynolds, posner, rule 23, wal-mart on March 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
For those readers who are interested in additional insights on Judge Posner’s opinion in McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., No. 11-3639 (7th Cir., Feb. 24, 2012), which was the subject of Wednesday’s CAB post, here’s a link to an insightful executive alert on the decision, which was authored by colleagues in Baker Hostler’s New York office, partner Deborah [...]
Think Dukes Was the End of the Employment Discrimination Class Action? Think Again.
Posted in Class Action Trends, Employment Class Actions, Federal Court Decisions, tagged 23(b)(2), 23(c)(4), class action, class certification, class treatment, disparate impact, dukes, employment discrimination, frcp 23, issue certification, mcreynolds, merrill lynch, posner, rule 23, seventh circuit, Supreme Court, wal-mart on February 29, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Last Friday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a significant employment class action decision that may challenge conventional wisdom about the impact of the Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes. The opinion, authored by respected Judge Richard Posner, is McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., No. 11-3639 (7th Cir., Feb. [...]
Can’t Seem to Find Common Ground with Plaintiff’s Counsel? Try the Trustee.
Posted in CAFA Requirements, Class Action Decisions, Class Action Settlements, Class Action Trends, Other class action blogs, tagged article 77, bank of america, blackrock financial, CAFA, class action, diversity jurisdiction, erisa, frankel, new york state code, opt out, second circuit, securities class action, securities class action trends, securities exception, trustee on February 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Alison Frankel, whose On the Case blog is featured in the Thomson Reuters News and Insight section, posted this interesting article today discussing a novel alternative to the class action as a device to resolve mass disputes. The procedural device in question is Article 77 of the New York State Code, which allows a trustee to seek court approval of decisions relating [...]
Baker Hostetler Employment Class Action Blog – Much More than Quality Employment Class Actions News
Posted in Class Action Trends, Federal Civil Procedure, Federal Court Decisions, Lawyers' Resources, Other class action blogs, tagged american express merchants, amex III, arbitration, class action, compucredit, concepcion, employment class action, FAA, federal arbitration act, federal common law, federal statutory law, greenwood, iqbal, lewis, mersol, pleading, rule 8, scalia, twombly, unconscionability on February 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The Baker Hostetler Employment Class Action Blog is constantly putting out quality content, but they have two new recent posts that I would especially recommend to my readers. They include: This February 6 post from John Lewis discussing the impacts, both on employment cases and otherwise, of the Second Circuit’s recent Amex III decision. This February [...]


Remember, a Class Action Settlement Is a Compromise
Posted in Class Action Settlements, Commentary, tagged 2d cir, class action, class action settlement, compromise, fairness hearing, rakoff, sec action, second circuit, settlement, settlement approval on March 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
David Lat posted an article on the legal industry blog Above the Law yesterday that caught my eye. Lat’s post, entitled Benchslap of the Day: Second Circuit Rebukes Rakoff, discusses the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ per curium decision granting a stay pending the appeal of the lower court’s refusal to approve the settlement in SEC v. Citigroup Global Markets [...]
Read Full Post »