Here are some blog entries from the week that was that might be of interest to class action practitioners:
Class Action Decisions
The UCL Practitioner quotes a recent California Court of Appeal decision reversing a trial court’s order denying class certification on the ground that the court had not allowed pre-certification discovery of the identity of possible replacement class representatives under Pioneer Electronics v. Superior Court, 40 Cal. 4th 360 (2007) (link to opinion provided by Class Action Defense Blog):
http://www.uclpractitioner.com/2008/09/new-class-certi.html
CAFA Law Blog provides a synopsis of a Louisiana federal court decision addressing the time for removal under CAFA and the non-applicability under CAFA of the “first-served” rule, which provided that all defendants had to join in a removal petition within 30 days from the date that the first defendant was served with process:
http://www.cafalawblog.com/-case-summaries-eastern-district-of-louisiana-says-no-go-noto-refusing-to-remand-cafa-case-back-to-state-court-on-timeliness-issue.html
Class Action Defense Blog summarizes a California opinion upholding the dismissal of a claim for attorneys fees under a fee sharing agreement that was not disclosed prior to another court’s ruling on a fee award in an underlying class action settlement:
http://classactiondefense.jmbm.com/2008/09/attorney_fees_class_action_def_1.html
Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog discusses a Delaware Chancery Court decision allowing objectors limited discovery in evaluating the fairness of a class action settlement:
http://www.delawarelitigation.com/2008/09/articles/chancery-court-updates/limited-discovery-allowed-for-objectors-to-class-action-settlement/
Class Action News
Jurist reports on a class action lawsuit filed against the NSA, President Bush, Vice President Chaney, and other government officials for actions in connection with their warrantless surveillance program to gather consumer information from telecommunications companies:
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/09/class-action-lawsuit-filed-over-us.php
Tribune Company issues a press release regarding an ERISA class action filed by various reporters, editors, and other employees of the LA Times, a case covered in various blog entries last week. (See last week’s CABWR)…
http://www.tribune.com/pressroom/releases/2008/09172008.html
… and more on the case from Southern California Public Radio:
http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/kpccnewsinbrief/2008/09/la-times-employees-file-class.html
Point of Law reports on the settlement of long-standing litigation against the New York City’s homeless programs by consolidating all pending litigation into a single class action settlement:
http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2008/09/nyc-settles-maj.php
Class Action Commentary
A Seattle Supersonics fan provides an insider’s view of a heated battle over a subpoena issued by the defendant to a founder of the fan-organized lobbying group, Save our Sonics, in a putative class action for alleged deceptive marketing practices filed on behalf of Sonics ticketholders against the ownership group that recently moved the team to Oklahoma City, from Seattle Center Arena Reboot:
http://seattlecenterarenareboot.blogspot.com/2008/09/dispatches-from-tenth-circle-sonics-fan.html
The Complex Litigator offers commentary on developments in California case law regarding the preclusive effect of a denial of class certification:
http://www.thecomplexlitigator.com/2008/09/johnson-v-gla-1.html
Spam Notes comments on a recent class action settlement involving alleged text messaging spam and addresses the issue whether text messaging spam falls within the purview of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA):
http://spamnotes.com/2008/09/23/do-text-messgaes-fall-within-the-tcpa.aspx?ref=rss
Practice Tips
Drug and Device Law Blog offers a “Multidistrict Litigation Compendium,” which includes a clarification of the distinction between the MDL process and class certification:
http://druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com/2008/09/multidistrict-litigation-compendium.html
Class Action Trends
Mass Tort Litigation Blog offers a link to an ABA Litigation News Section Report discussing a trend in courts ordering a full evidentiary Daubert hearing to assess the admissibility of expert testimony at the class certification stage of a class action:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/mass_tort_litigation/2008/09/daubert-hearing.html
The D&O Diary discusses the “dark new phase” of litigation spawned from the subprime economic crisis:
http://www.dandodiary.com/2008/09/articles/subprime-litigation/litigation-wave-inflection-point/
… and for loads of content on various other legal issues implicated by the financial crisis and proposed bailout, see http://www.theracetothebottom.org/.
Real Lawyers Have Blogs updates a previous story about a plaintiffs’ class action law firm that hired a PR firm to post a message on the social networking website Twitter seeking potential class representatives. The update reports that the PR firm retracted the post following media and public reaction, but defended its use of Twitter to generate publicity about a potential class action as in the public interest…
http://kevin.lexblog.com/2008/09/articles/social-networking-1/pr-firm-retracts-twitter-post-looking-for-class-action-plaintiffs/
… and another brief commentary on the story from Overlawyered:
http://overlawyered.com/2008/09/using-twitter-to-scare-up-class-action-plaintiffs/
International Class Action Law
Securities Docket and Bankruptcy Information Centre discuss issues facing two British pension funds in pursuing securities class action claims against the now bankrupt Lehman Bros. investment bank:
http://www.securitiesdocket.com/2008/09/22/uk-pension-funds-in-lehman-bros-securities-class-action-weighing-options/
http://bankruptcy.org.uk/bankruptcy-news/pension-funds-review-status-of-lehman-class-action-ipecom/ (quoting article from IPE.com)
Legal Pad LA discusses a class action for life insurance benefits filed on behalf of a putative class of descendants of victims of the Armenian genocide of World War I against a foreign insurer in federal court in California:
http://www.lalegalpad.com/2008/09/descendants-of.html
ElectEcon takes issue with a Canadian usury law that formed the basis of a Ontario court’s decision holding a Canadian Satellite TV company’s late fees illegal in a class action decision impacting millions of customers:
http://www.eclectecon.net/2008/09/consumer-protec.html
Remember the Midwest comments on an article in Australian newspaper The Age discussing a possible trend in securities class actions arising out of a company’s failure to disclose facts concerning its carbon emissions. (for a ClassActionBlawg entry discussing the same article, click here):
http://rememberthemidwest.blogspot.com/2008/09/class-action-climate.html
Multinational Corporations links to a Business Day South Africa article reporting on developments in a case filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act against several multinational corporations for their alleged complicity in the former apartheid policy of the South African government:
http://www.multinationalcorporations.info/blog/9675/apartheid-class-action-group-in-us-court-again%C2%A0-business-day-south-africa/
Class Action Politics
Primary Monitor Blog provides a list of issues on which Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain agree, including their support of the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA):
http://199.125.75.56/primaryblog/voting_records_where_mccain_obama_have_agreed
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Class Action Blogosphere Weekly Review
Posted in Class Action News, Class Action Trends, Federal Court Decisions, Other class action blogs, tagged blawg review, blog review, class action commentary, Class Action News, class action review, Class Action Trends on July 22, 2008| 1 Comment »
Here are some blog entries from the week that was that might be of interest to class action practitioners:
Class Action Decisions
The Complex Litigator has breaking news on a significant decision issued today by the California Court of Appeal reversing, on predominance grounds, a class certification order in a wage and hour class action involving claims for unpaid wages for hours worked during meal breaks.
http://www.thecomplexlitigator.com/2008/07/breaking-news-m.html
CAFA Law Blog finds comparisons to Jeff Spicoli and Mr. Hand from Fast Times at Ridgemont High in a California federal court decision allowing discovery prior to a ruling on a motion to remand a class action removed under CAFA.
http://www.cafalawblog.com/-case-summaries-well-show-you-ours-if-you-show-us-yours-court-allows-preremand-discovery-to-support-amount-in-controversy-dispute.html
For a review of several recent federal decisions addressing CAFA issues, see this entry from The UCL Practitioner:
http://www.uclpractitioner.com/2008/07/four-new-cafa-o.html
Class Action Defense Blog provides a thorough review of a recent Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision discussing the applicability of the excusable neglect standard in assessing a class member’s request to opt out of a class action settlement after the opt-out deadline.
http://classactiondefense.jmbm.com/2008/07/class_action_defense_issuessil.html
North Carolina Appellate Blog reviews a recent North Carolina Court of Appeals decision addressing the full faith and credit to be given the class certification decision of another state’s court (See last week’s CABWR for more on this decision from North Carolina Business Litigation Report).
http://womblencappellate.blogspot.com/2008/07/coa-holds-that-full-faith-and-credit.html
Mass Tort Litigation Blog discusses Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to grant review of class certification issues and due process issues relating to class certification of a breach of express warranty claim in a case filed against an automobile manufacturer for allegedly defective brakes…
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/mass_tort_litigation/2008/07/kia-class-actio.html
…and more on the same decision from Point of Law
http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2008/07/pennsylvania-high-court-to-hea.php
Overlawyered summarizes an opinion highlighted in a New York Law Journal article published last week in which United States District Judge Jed Rakoff refused to appoint one of two named plaintiffs as a class representative on inadequacy grounds, stating that the would-be representative was merely a “pawn of counsel” and that he would “not be party to a sham.” (But note that Judge Rakoff did grant certification as to the other class representative).
http://overlawyered.com/2008/07/mere-pawn-of-counsel/
http://overlawyered.com/2008/07/labaton-sucharow-rebuffed-again/
Class Action Trends
D&O Diary discusses the impact of the economic downturn as a cause of increased securities class action filings…
http://www.dandodiary.com/2008/07/articles/securities-litigation/bad-economic-vibe-means-more-securities-litigation/
… and recent developments in issues relating to federal jurisdiction, removal, and remand of certain securities class actions.
http://www.dandodiary.com/2008/07/articles/securities-litigation/section-11-lawsuits-coming-soon-to-a-state-court-near-you/
IP Finance comments on a recent Law.com article discussing potential trends in shareholder class actions spawned by patent disputes (see my commentary on this case here).
http://ipfinance.blogspot.com/2008/07/magma-security-class-action.html
Commentary
Class Reactions comments on a New York Times article discussing a class action filed on behalf of cruise ship passengers who purchased art at onboard auctions:
http://classreactions.com/?p=49
Wage Law offers commentary on another New York Times article about reports from the Government Accountability Office critical of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s performance and suggests that this poor performance in ensuring compliance has led workers to look to private attorneys for redress for wage and hour violations.
http://wagelaw.typepad.com/wage_law/2008/07/gao-sharply-criticizes-wage-and-hour-division.html
Central La. Politics responds to criticisms from a local radio personality on class actions against drug manufacturers:
http://centrallapolitics.blogspot.com/2008/07/more-ignorant-rant-from-ksyls-dave.html
Class Action Scandals
Point of Law provides an update on continuing fallout from the Dickie Scruggs bribery scandal:
http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2008/07/more-scruggs-trouble-rigsby-br.php
Class Action Legislation and Reform
The Weekly Standard Blog addresses the highly publicized scandal involving Milberg Weiss attorney William Lerach and securities class action reform legislation proposed by Texas Senator John Cornyn entitled the Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act (SLAATA). (See my earlier commentary on the proposed bill here)
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/cornyn_takes_on_class_action_m.asp
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