ClassActionBlawg.com

A bout of the stomach flu delayed this week’s CABWR, but better late than never.  Here are some blog entries from the week that was (plus a few days) that might be of interest to class action practitioners:

Class Action-Related Post of the Week

This entry from Wage Law about a conversation overheard between two judges in a coffee shop discussing a “sweetheart deal” that had been proposed in a class action pending before one of them says volumes both about the need for discretion by judges and lawyers alike in discussing their cases in public places and also the need for class action lawyers on both sides to do their homework before submitting a proposed settlement for court approval:

http://wagelaw.typepad.com/wage_law/2008/09/hearsay.html

Class Action Decisions

The Indiana Blog, How Appealing, and Corporate Legal Times, are among the many legal blogs that commented on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision disallowing a class action claim for rescission of a mortgage under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) (See CAB entry here):

http://indianalawblog.com/archives/2008/09/ind_decisions_m_286.html

http://howappealing.law.com/093008.html#030528

http://www.cltmag.com/mortgage-lenders-fight-off-rescission-class-action-in-7th-circuit.html

The Complex Litigator and The UCL Practitioner review a California Court of Appeal decision addressing what constitutes an impermissible merits determination in ruling on a motion for class certification:

http://www.thecomplexlitigator.com/2008/09/hewlett-packard.html

http://www.uclpractitioner.com/2008/10/new-class-certi.html

Class Action Defense Blog provides a synopsis of a California Court of Appeal reversing a denial of class certification on the ground that a lower court’s orders precluding certain discovery, including discovery of contact information for other putative class members, prevented the plaintiffs from meeting their burden of demonstrating commonality and typicality:

http://classactiondefense.jmbm.com/2008/09/class_action_defense_caseslee_1.html

Classified provides summaries of several recent decisions by federal district courts in Florida on a variety of class action-related issues including proof of amount in controversy for CAFA removal, the res judicata effect of a summary judgment order in a prior class action, and reliance as an element of a claim under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act:

http://www.carltonfields.com/classactionblog/ (see entries dated September 28)

Business Spectator reports on the dismissal of a class action filed by Iraqi citizens in a New York federal court against an Australian company for its alleged acts of bribery and other unlawful conduct in connection with a UN food-for-oil program:

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Third-class-action-against-AWB-in-US-dismissed-JZAV9?opendocument&src=rss

EDTexWeblog.com provides a summary of a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas dismissing a class action brought under the Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act (DPPA):

http://mcsmith.blogs.com/eastern_district_of_texas/2008/09/drivers-privacy-protection-act-dppa-class-action-dismissed.html

planadvisor discusses an Illinois federal court’s order granting class certification in an ERISA class action involving allegations of excessive fees and other breaches of fiduciary duty in administering a 401(k) plan:

http://www.planadviser.com/article.php/2933

Green Buckeye RN discusses a West Virginia federal court’s decision not to certify a class in a mass tort case filed on behalf of a would-be class of residents of a city whose water was allegedly contaminated by the defendant’s pollution:

http://greenbuckeyern.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/the-charleston-gazette-judge-rejects-c8-class-action-case-against-dupont/

Overlawyered reports on the dismissal of a New York lawsuit brought on behalf of a would-have-been class of men seeking to hold “Ladies Night” discounts unconstitutional:

http://overlawyered.com/2008/09/ladies-nights-a-win-for-nyc-clubs/

Class Action Scandals

Dallas Blog reports on the guilty plea of the last defendant to face charges in connection with the Milberg Weiss kickback scandal:

http://www.dallasblog.com/200809301003674/john-browning-s-legally-speaking/a-class-action-act.html

 Class Action Settlements

Good Morning Silicon Valley discusses a cy pres award from an class action settlement involving alleged unpaid overtime against a video game manufacturer that went to pay for scholarships for students studying video game design:

http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2008/09/class-action-helps-fund-class-action.html

Enough links to an entry from The Real Battle in Seattle discussing a movement by protesters arrested during the 1999 WTO meetings in Seattle to donate proceeds from a class action verdict to fund global justice projects:

http://www.enoughenough.org/blog/59/returning-class-action-funds-to-the-global-justice-movement/

http://www.realbattleinseattle.org/node/71

Class Action (and Related) News

Slashdot is one of many non-law blogs to comment on a class action filed against a video game manufacturer for allegedly including undisclosed invasive copy protection software in its video games that could not be uninstalled:

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/24/1939256&from=rss

SCOTUS Blog previews an upcoming oral argument in a case brought by public-sector union members on behalf of a proposed class seeking to hold unconstitutional certain public-sector union service fees earmarked for litigation on behalf of affiliated collective bargaining units:

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/scotuswiki-preview-locke-v-karass/#more-7970

Class Action Trends

The D&O Diary considers whether a recent New York federal court’s order dismissing a pre-subprime crisis case involving alleged failure to disclose risky investments may portend an end to subprime-related securities litigation:

http://www.dandodiary.com/2008/09/articles/securities-litigation/does-dismissal-foreshadow-subprime-litigation-culmination/

Canadian attorney Daniel A. Lublin discusses the potential benefits of bringing a group of individual wrongful dismissal claims rather than pursuing a class action:

http://blog.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/toronto_employment_lawyer/2008/09/class-action-la.html

The Consumerist showcases the latest website dedicated to providing information about class action settlements:

http://consumerist.com/5054244/find-class-action-settlements-at-topclassactionscom#c7958619

Class Action Commentary

Drug and Device Law Blog and Point of Law summarize a recent National Law Journal article by Michigan Law Professor Adam Pritchard discussing a possible mechanism for companies to unilaterally insulate themselves from certain securities class actions:

http://druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com/2008/10/end-of-securities-fraud-class-actions.html

http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2008/10/basic-inc-v-lev.php

This student post from The Race to the Bottom summarizes developments in the last of the securities fraud cases pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York involving Italian dairy company Parmalat:

http://www.theracetothebottom.org/home/parmalat-claims-dismissed-against-banks-auditors-and-attorne.html

CAFA Law Blog answers reader mail with commentary on the applicability of the diversity jurisdiction provisions of Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) to both removal and original jurisdiction:

http://www.cafalawblog.com/-resources-cafa-law-blog-mail-bag-an-inquiry-from-one-of-our-readers.html

The Deal Sleuth offers a defense of securities class action lawsuits:

http://thedealsleuth.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/in-defense-of-shareholder-class-actions/

Robert Galoppini’s Commercial Open Source Software makes an apt quote to Shakespeare in reporting on the position taken by several consumer associations in an amicus brief filed in a case involving alleged copyright infringement by the maker of a technology capable of both infringing and noninfringing technologies (referred to as “multi-use technologies”):

http://robertogaloppini.net/2008/09/29/peer-to-peer-demonization-a-class-action-in-favor-of-multi-use-technologies/

The Lighter Side of Class Actions

Internet Monk announces a “class action” against the publisher of a new study Bible for mental anguish in causing great anticipation for its publication…

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/van-til-announces-class-action-lawsuit-against-justin-taylor-for-cruelty-and-abuse-of-bibliophiles

… and draws a response from the “defendant”

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/09/class-action-lawsuit-against-your.html