Here are some links to blog entries that might be of interest to class action practitioners from this past week…
Class Action Scandals
Portfolio.com comments on unidentified “conspiring former partners” implicated in the Milberg Weiss kickback scandal.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/06/24/Former-Milberg-Partners-Identified
Natural Gas Guru comments on the wire fraud trial of two lawyers arising out of a settlement in a Kentucky fen-phen class action…
http://natgagu.blogspot.com/2008/06/way-class-action-really-work-from-fen.html
…PPH Legal Blog discusses the testimony of class action “guru” Stanley Chesley in the same trial…
…and more on the conclusion of the trial from Letter of Apology…
http://letterofapology.com/2008/06/24/kentucky-fen-phen-case-goes-to-jury-today/
…and PointofLaw:
http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2008/06/fenphen-wrapping-it-up.php
Class Action Procedure
California Labor & Employment Law Blog discusses a recent California case upholding a defendant’s right to move to strike class allegations prior to class certification.
http://www.callaborlaw.com/archives/court-decisions-motion-to-strike-class-allegations-upheld.html
Class Action Defense Blog provides a thorough summary of a recent decision involving conditional certification and later decertification of a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and discussing the interplay between Rule 23 and the collective action procedure applicable to FLSA actions.
http://classactiondefense.jmbm.com/2008/06/flsa_class_action_defense_case_14.html
Thanks to The D&O Diary for providing a link to a commentary by Law Prof on the Looseon a novel procedural device for bringing representative actions called “aggregator” standing. (for more on the various types of representative actions, see Partial Glossary of Representative Actions and Terms).
http://jsiegel.blogspot.com/2008/06/standing-in-quicksand.html
Class Action Reform
American Courthouse summarizes a paper by California State Senator Tom Harman regarding a class action reform bill he has proposed. (See my previous entry about Senator Harman’s bill here.)
http://americancourthouse.com/2008/06/20/cleaning-up-class-action-abuse.html
Corpreform challenges Judge Richard Posner’s observation that “[t]he realistic alternative to a class action is not 17 million individual suits, but zero individual suits, as only a lunatic or a fanatic sues for $30.”
http://www.corpreform.com/2008/06/am-i-a-lunatic.html
Tort Deform comments on a recent New York Times Article addressing recent tort reform issues, including a comparison of the lobbying efforts of pro-business groups versus trial lawyer groups, proposed legislation, public relations efforts, and other aspects of the battle for and against tort reform…
http://www.tortdeform.com/archives/2008/06/my_take_on_the_tort_wars.html
…and more on the same article from Mass Tort Litigation Blog
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/mass_tort_litigation/2008/06/viewing-the-bat.html
International Class Action Law
Phil Law Weblog reports on a class action filed by British citizens against to reclaim alleged property tax overcharges from the Spanish Government.
http://law.taragana.net/archive/brits-file-class-action-lawsuit-against-spanish-govt/
Class Certification Decisions
Classified discusses an Alabama federal court’s recent decision to certify a class of pharmacies in a breach of contract case, despite objections by the defendant that the class representatives were inadequate due to their lack of knowledge about the case.
http://www.carltonfields.com/classactionblog/blog.aspx?entry=224
Miscellaneous Class Action News and Commentary
Good Honest Dollar $$ provides a nonlawyer’s perspective on the positives and negatives of shareholder class actions.
http://www.goodhonestdollar.com/shareholder-class-actions-good-for-lawyers-or-shareholders
Overlawyered comments on objections to a class action settlement in which plaintiffs’ counsel allegedly “fished for a lead plaintiff” after reaching a settlement agreement with the defendant.
The Lighter Side of Class Actions
Avatar Briefs proposes a class action by “all the refined citizens of the world” against “all low and high rise g-string wearers” while commenting on a recent lawsuit filed by a woman who was allegedly injured while trying on a g-string.
http://avatarbriefs.blogspot.com/2008/06/class-action-against-g-string-wearers.html
And finally, The Complex Litigator offers commentary on the class action potential of wage and hour claims brought by several exotic dancers against nightclubs, admitting that “I just wanted the chance to discuss news about dancers suing for better wages, and now I have.”
http://www.thecomplexlitigator.com/2008/06/future-class-ac.html
