CABWR is finally back after a three week holiday hiatus! Here are some blog posts from the week that was that might be of interest to class action practitioners:
Class Action Decisions
CAFA Law Blog discusses a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision addressing jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) before reversing class certification in a case alleging violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA):
Class Action Defense Blog summarizes a California appellate court decision reversing a trial court’s decision to deny certification after concluding that it would be necessary to make a determination on the merits to ascertain class members and evaluate numerosity:
http://classactiondefense.jmbm.com/2009/01/class_action_defense_cases_gha.html
Classified comments on a Florida decision upholding a class certification order where the lack of a hearing transcript left the appellate court with no way to analyze the evidence considered by the trial court in reaching its decision:
http://www.carltonfields.com/classactionblog/blog.aspx?entry=246
Folo comments on an opinion by Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner, who has some harsh words for attorneys for objectors to a class action settlement who sought an attorney fee award for what the Judge did not consider a significant contribution to the outcome of the case:
http://www.folo.us/2008/12/30/this-case-is-finito/
The UCL Practitioner summarizes a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision discussing the removability under CAFA of securities class actions filed under section 22(a) of the Securities Act of 1933:
http://www.uclpractitioner.com/2009/01/7th-circuit-makes-it-harder-for-plaintiffs-to-keep-securities-class-actions-in-state-court.html
Class Action Trends
Drug and Device Law Blog discusses the phenomena of “global coordinating counsel” and its rise from marketing ploy to reality as class action and related procedures become more developed around the world:
http://druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-meaning-of-global-coordinating.html
Mass Tort Litigation Blog discusses the “multi-faceted” nature of mass tort litigation in an article that includes a discussion of federal judge Jack Weinstein treating MDL litigation and settlement of pharmaceutical products liability claims as a “quasi-class action”:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/mass_tort_litigation/2009/01/todays-14-billi.html
Securities Docket summarizes a Manhattan Institute report on a trend in Louisiana public pension funds serving as lead plaintiffs in securities class actions:
http://www.securitiesdocket.com/2008/12/28/manhattan-institute-finds-la-pension-funds-most-active-lead-plaintiffs-in-securities-cases/
The D&O Diary summarizes the year in securities litigation from 2008…
http://www.dandodiary.com/2009/01/articles/securities-litigation/a-closer-look-at-the-2008-securities-lawsuits/
… and The Race to the Bottom offers observations about the modest nature of the increase in securities class actions in light of the financial crisis:
http://www.theracetothebottom.org/home/the-trend-in-securities-class-action-lawsuits.html
The Daily Insurer discusses a recent report by Seyfert Shaw LLP summarizing trends in employment class action litigation:
http://dailyinsurer.blogspot.com/2009/01/class-action-litigation-analyzed-in-new.html
Class Action Commentary
Point of Law provides an abstract of a student note by James McDonald in Duke Law Journal entitled “Milberg’s Monopoly: Restoring Honesty and Competition to the Plaintiffs’ Bar”:
http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2009/01/milbergs-monopo.php
Wage Law discusses claims-made settlements and reversions in wage and hour class actions and whether unclaimed funds escheat to the state:
http://www.californiawagelaw.com/wage_law/2009/01/more-on-reversions-and-claims-made-settlements.html
Pro Football Talk comments on the facts of a class action filed on behalf of retired players against the NFL Players’ Association for for breach of fiduciary duty, which was recently tried to a jury verdict in the retirees’ favor:
http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/01/13/ruling-in-nflpa-class-action-sheds-light-on-what-the-union-did-allegedly-to-retired-players/
Class Action News
The Complex Litigator reports on the California Supreme Court’s decision to grant review in the wage and hour class action Brinkley v. Public Storage, Inc., Sup. Ct. Case No. S168806:
http://www.thecomplexlitigator.com/2009/01/breaking-news-review-granted-in-brinkley-v-public-storage-inc.html
Class Action Previews. Predictions, and Hopes for 2009
North Carolina Business Litigation Report previews the year ahead for the North Carolina Business Court, including a discussion of class actions:
http://www.ncbusinesslitigationreport.com/2009/01/articles/watching-the-court/the-year-ahead-in-the-north-carolina-business-court/
New look Overlawyered has a post proposing a good idea for a consumer class action that it’s author predicts will be filed by some plaintiffs’ firm in 2009:
http://overlawyered.com/2008/12/a-prediction-for-2009/
Law and More has hopes for “juicy corporate class action litigation” in 2009:
http://lawandmore.typepad.com/law_and_more/2009/01/needed-juicy-corporate-classaction-litigation.html
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ClassActionBlawg.com Slapped with Class Action Lawsuit
Posted in Commentary, tagged Class Action News, class action press release, class action publicity on August 12, 2009| 4 Comments »
Not really. I just had to vent.
Try typing the phrase “class action” into a Google news search on any given day and you’ll find hundreds of catchy headlines like:
… You get the idea.
To the casual observer, many of these dramatic headlines might sound like real news, rather than a plaintiffs’ firm with a good SEO consultant supplementing its latest complaint with a press release in order to drum up publicity for its filing. The truth is, any yahoo with a law license can file a “class action” complaint. But the case doesn’t become a class action until the judge certifies a class, and the mere filing of a lawsuit is a far cry from a determination that the case has any merit. Some of these complaints may actually become “major” class actions, but the fact that they seem to accompany every filing where the plaintiff seeks to represent a class makes it almost impossible to distinguish the truly meaningful cases from those that you’ll never hear about again.
I’m sure a good plaintiffs’ lawyer could come up with an eloquent explanation for why it is necessary to treat each new case as the story of the century. It could be driven by a desire for publicity, a belief in the righteousness of the cause, or even a means of defending a firm’s turf against possible rivals. Whatever the reason, to someone searching for meaningful class action news, having to sift through the countless case announcements can be more than irritating.
Maybe some day the search engines will come up with some kind of filter to separate out the press releases from real news. Then again, if it was so easy to find class action-related news, would there be any need to visit ClassActionBlawg.com?
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