Class Action Blogosphere Weekly Review’s “Lay Down the Gauntlet” Challenge of the Week
I know this is going to make me sound like Ayn Rand, but why would we possibly want to encourage a public policy that imposes liability on employers for failing to force all of their hourly employees not to work during meal and rest breaks?
I sense that there are a few bloggers out there who will have an answer (or who will take great issue with the premise of the question).
For continuing coverage of proceedings in the California wage and hour class action decision, Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, and other recent decisions involving wage and hour claims for unpaid time worked during meal and rest breaks, see this post and others from The Complex Litigator…
http://www.thecomplexlitigator.com/2008/10/brinker-redux-in-brinkley-v-public-storage-inc.html
… and this post from Wage Law:
http://wagelaw.typepad.com/wage_law/2008/10/old-and-busted-brinker-new-hotness-brinkley.html
With that out of the way, here are some more blog entries from the week that was that might be of interest to class action practitioners:
Class Action Decisions
William Shatner stars in this typically colorful case review from CAFA Law Blog of a California federal court’s order remanding to state court a class action that had been removed under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), finding that the defendant had filed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the $5 million amount in controversy threshold was met:
Classified discusses another CAFA amount-in-controversy decision accepting jurisdiction where the damages requested only “likely exceed” the $5 million amount:
http://www.carltonfields.com/classactionblog/blog.aspx?entry=243
North Carolina Business Litigation Report summarizes a North Carolina Business Court’s decision permitting a plaintiff to withdraw class claims and enter into a confidential settlement with the defendant:
Class Action Defense Blog provides a synopsis of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision addressing choice of law issues and their impact on the enforceability of a class arbitration waiver:
http://classactiondefense.jmbm.com/2008/10/ucl_class_action_defense_cases_7.html
This guest post on Drug and Device Law Blog addresses the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision concluding that a “reverse payment settlement” in which a the holder of a patent to a branded drug agreed to make payments to a generic challenger in settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit did not violate antitrust laws:
http://druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com/2008/10/federal-circuit-upholds-reverse-payment.html
How Appealing summarizes a decision by Judge Richard A. Posner that “offers a useful discussion of the pros and cons of class actions” and draws from the personal experience of the wives of the panel’s members in reversing class certification in a deceptive advertising case:
http://howappealing.law.com/102808.html#030880
Class Action (and Related) Commentary
Overlawyered reports on an order compelling the transfer of more than 600 mentally disabled residents of a nursing facilities to group homes entered as the result of a settlement in a public interest group’s class action against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the objection of the parents of one of the residents arguing that their son’s health would be endangered by the transfer, and proposed legislation to require courts to notify parents and guardians in class actions and give them a right to opt out:
http://overlawyered.com/2008/10/evicted-by-his-own-class-action-lawyers/
In this Huffington Post entry, Tracy Siska comments on the indictment of former Police Commander Jon Burge and class actions filed against the Chicago Police Department alleging that illegal detentions and prisoner abuse persisted in the department persisted until as recently as 2005, years after the events underlying Burge’s indictment:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tracy-siska/chicago-police-burge-and_b_138242.html
Point of Law offers an abstract from a National Review article discussing the Alaska “loser-pays” rule for shifting attorneys fees:
http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2008/10/commonsense-jus.php
Class Action Trends
Jan Norman on Small Business discusses trends in California wage and hour class actions and offers tips for employers from employment lawyer John McKasson:
http://jan.freedomblogging.com/2008/10/28/californias-fad-workplace-class-action-lawsuits/3411/
The D&O Diary discusses “The New Phase of Credit Crisis Litigation” as well as other class-action-related trends, and provides a bit of comic relief at the end of this post:
Class Action Scandals
The New York Times Deal Book Blog reports on the sentencing of two former Milberg Weiss partners for their role in an illegal kickback scheme (see CAB entry here):
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/bershad-gets-6-months-in-class-action-scheme/
Mass Tort Litigation Blog reports on the Kentucky Supreme Court’s decision to disbar two lawyers involved in a scandal involving alleged wire fraud in connection with a Fen-Phen class action settlement:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/mass_tort_litigation/2008/10/lawyers-involve.html
Class Action Potpourri
FP Legal Post comments on a video game featuring vicious class action lawyers. (See CAB entry here) …
… and Securities Docket doesn’t think the game is a good idea:
http://www.securitiesdocket.com/2008/10/27/worst-video-game-ever-class-action-killers/
The Australian newspaper’s Letters Blog includes a reader’s entry suggesting a government-sponsored class action is a better response than a bailout to the economic crisis:
and finally, The UCL Practitioner offers “An Introduction to the California Blogosphere,” which includes reviews of several of the great California-and-class-action-centric blogs often featured on CABWR and others covering a variety of legal topics:
http://www.uclpractitioner.com/2008/10/blawg-review-183.html
Class Action Blogosphere Weekly Review
Posted in Class Action News, Class Action Trends, Other class action blogs, tagged attorneys fees, blawg review, blog review, CAFA, CAFA removal, class action articles, class action blog, class action commentary, Class Action News, class action scandals, Class Action Settlements, Class Action Trends, parens patriae on September 16, 2008| 2 Comments »
Here are some blog entries from the week that was that might be of interest to class action practitioners:
Class Action Decisions
For a “brief” commentary on a case addressing the removability under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) of a class action counterclaim by a plaintiff/counterclaim defendant, see this guest commentary from Dallas attorney Jonathan Bridges on CAFA Law Blog:
http://www.cafalawblog.com/-case-summaries-guest-commentary-fourth-circuit-to-decide-whether-to-let-att-pull-up-its-shorts-class-action-to-federal-court.html
Class Action Defense Blog summarizes a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision holding that a state’s parens patriae action brought on behalf of its citizens was removable under CAFA:
http://classactiondefense.jmbm.com/2008/09/cafa_class_action_defense_case_19.html
Mass Tort Defense summarizes a Kentucky federal court decision denying class certification in a toxic tort lawsuit in part based on plaintiffs’ ability to articulate an appropriate class definition:
http://www.masstortdefense.com/2008/09/articles/federal-court-rejects-toxic-tort-class-action/
Consumer Law & Policy Blog summarizes a September 8, 2008 decision of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals applying Missouri law in upholding a class arbitration ban in a consumer class action involving prepaid gift cards:
http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2008/09/eighth-circuit.html
Class Action Commentary
Training Marketer discusses potential impacts from a class action settlement involving claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) seeking access to a retail store’s website for persons with disabilities…
http://trainingtime.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/target-settles-class-action-ada-lawsuit-is-your-site-compliant/
… more on providing online access to visually impaired users from That Credit Union Blog…
http://thatcreditunionblog.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/providing-online-accommodations-for-the-visually-impaired/
… and The Industry Standard:
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/09/15/target-pact-wont-lead-web-access-standards
The Defense Base Act Blog discusses possible impacts that the Defense Base Act could have on pending class action litigation involving claims that a company’s acts of not training its employees properly for work in Iraq has led to injuries to other employees:
http://defensebaseactblog.com/2008/09/12/will-the-defense-base-act-foil-the-recent-class-action-law-suit-against-kbr/
Class Action Scandals
Health Care Renewal comments on the University of Minnesota’s recruitment of a health insurance company executive who resigned in the wake of a stock option backdating scandal:
http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2008/09/university-of-minnesota-courts-mcguire.html
Class Action Reform
Watchdog Blog endorses proposed legislation that would prohibit class arbitration waivers in credit card agreements:
http://citizen.typepad.com/watchdog_blog/2008/09/arbitration-wil.html
Class Action Settlements
Overlawyered updates earlier commentary on a $688 million attorneys fee awarded in an Enron class action settlement:
http://overlawyered.com/2008/09/coughlin-stoia-amlaw-daily-and-prof-john-coffee-contd/
The Consumerist reports on frustrations in trying to participate in a class action settlement after receiving notice:
http://consumerist.com/5048989/join-the-verizon-etf-class-action-if-they-would-only-let-you
Class Action (and Related) Scholarship
California Punitive Damages provides a synopsis and brief commentary on a recent scholarly work entitled “Punitive Damages and Class Actions” written by Professors Fransesco Parisi (Minnesota) and Marta Cenini (Milan)…
http://calpunitives.blogspot.com/2008/09/law-review-article-punitive-damages-and.html
… and more on the same article from Mass Tort Litigation Blog:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/mass_tort_litigation/2008/09/parisi-and-ceni.html
Point of Law reviews a paper entitled “The Use of Litigation Screenings in Mass Torts: A Formula for Fraud?” authored by Cardozo Law Professor Lester Brickman:
http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2008/09/brickman-of-1-m.php#more
Wage Law recommends the paper “Class Certification in the Age of Aggregate Proof” by Vanderbilt Professor Richard A. Nagreda:
http://wagelaw.typepad.com/wage_law/2008/09/class-certification-in-the-age-of-aggregate-proof.html
Class Action News
Fitz & Jen, Luke Ford.net, paidContent.org, and Portfolio.com discuss an ERISA class action filed by editors, writers, and other employees of a major newspaper recently acquired through the alleged misuse of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP):
http://www.fitzandjen.com/2008/09/jen-if-you-thin.html
http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=5006
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-jack-nelson-among-current-ex-tribune-co-staffers-trying-class-action-su/
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2008/09/16/la-times-refugees-sue-for-control-of-paper
Class Action Trends
The D&O Diary discusses the latest in options backdating settlements:
http://www.dandodiary.com/2008/09/articles/options-backdating/options-backdating-settlement-news-apple-and-unitedhealth/
Real Lawyers Have Blogs discusses a well-known plaintiffs’ class action firm’s use of social networking website Twitter to find prospective class representatives:
http://kevin.lexblog.com/2008/09/articles/social-networking-1/law-firm-using-twitter-to-find-plainitiffs-for-class-action-law-suit/
Rhondak discusses the use of small claims court as a “poor man’s class action” to vindicate consumer’s rights:
http://rhondak.livejournal.com/1036526.html
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