First Class Defense – Pierce Atwood Blogs

First Class Defense

July 15, 2025

Massachusetts Federal Court Rules Non-Signatory Can Enforce Arbitration Agreement

Arbitration, Class Action Litigation, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

On June 12, 2025, in Watkins v. Musk, the District of Massachusetts granted Elon Musk’s motion to dismiss a putative class action and to refer the claim to arbitration. The court ruled Musk could enforce an arbitration agreement between plaintiffs and Tesla to prevent Musk from having to litigate the claim, despite Musk not being […]

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July 07, 2025

Massachusetts Federal Court Grants Summary Judgment to Media Company in VPPA Suit

Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Litigation, Massachusetts Decisions, US District Court - Mass

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In March 2025, we reported that the District of Massachusetts had denied class certification of the plaintiff’s Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) claims in Therrien v. Hearst Television Inc. for failure to meet the implied ascertainability requirement of Rule 23. More recently, in April 2025, the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of […]

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June 23, 2025

After Oral Argument, Supreme Court Dismisses Labcorp Appeal of Class Certification Based On Article III Standing and Circuit Split Persists

Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Class Certifications, Litigation, Supreme Court

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On April 29, 2025, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Labcorp v. Davis, in which it considered the question of whether Article III standing must be determined for all members of the class, including uninjured members, at the outset of class certification. The issue presented is one that has deeply divided the federal courts […]

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May 14, 2025

Massachusetts Court Grants Motion to Dismiss “Spy Pixel” Privacy Class Action for Lack of Standing

Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Current Affairs, Litigation, Massachusetts Decisions, Privacy Class Actions, Standing, US District Court - Mass

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On January 31, 2025, in Campos v. TJX Companies, Inc., No. 24-cv-11067, the District of Massachusetts granted a motion to dismiss a class action due to the plaintiff’s lack of standing. The court concluded that the named plaintiff’s claims regarding the intrusion of her privacy by “spy pixels” could not be successful because there was […]

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March 26, 2025

Massachusetts Court Denies Certification of Privacy Class Action for Failure to Meet Ascertainability Requirement

Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Class Certifications, Massachusetts Decisions, Privacy Class Actions, US District Court - Mass

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On February 14, 2025, in Therrien v. Hearst Television, Inc., the District of Massachusetts denied a motion for class certification due to the plaintiff’s failure to meet the implied ascertainability requirement of Rule 23. The court concluded that the named plaintiff’s claims for unlawful disclosure of personally identifiable information could not be maintained on a […]

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January 08, 2025

Massachusetts Court Decertifies Class Action Against Medical School Over Deceptive Advertising Claims

Class Actions, Class Certifications, Consumer Class Actions, Massachusetts Decisions, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

The District of Massachusetts recently issued an opinion decertifying a class of medical students formerly enrolled at Saba University School of Medicine, a for-profit medical school in the Dutch Caribbean that is headquartered in Massachusetts. The reversal followed the court’s initial tentative certification under Federal Rule 23, issued from the bench immediately after oral argument. […]

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September 30, 2024

First Circuit Revives Privacy Class Action Based on Injury and Predominance

Appeals, Class Actions, Class Certifications, Consumer Class Actions, First Circuit Decisions, Privacy Class Actions, Standing, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

This summer, the First Circuit revived a privacy class action based on debt collection practices. In Nightingale v National Grid USA Service Company, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants and denied class certification. On appeal, the First Circuit vacated and remanded, focusing its analysis on (1) whether the Plaintiff alleged […]

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July 31, 2024

In Trio of Decisions, Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Splits on Arbitration

Arbitration, Class Action Litigation, Supreme Court

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Litigation

Three recent Supreme Court Decisions—Coinbase v. Suski, Smith v. Spizzirri, and Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries—based on consumer and employment disputes have resolved significant circuit splits over arbitration. These cases were all decided by a unanimous Court, with Justices Jackson, Sotomayor, and Roberts authoring the three opinions. Supreme Court Considers Arbitrability Based on Conflicting Contracts In […]

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July 18, 2024

Federal Courts in the First Circuit Continue to Grapple with Privacy Class Action Claims

Class Action Litigation, Consumer Class Actions, First Circuit Decisions, Privacy Class Actions, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

In 2023, we discussed the uptick in data privacy and cybersecurity class action lawsuits; as expected, this trend has persisted throughout 2024 as plaintiffs continue to test new theories of liability and the boundaries of constitutional standing. In privacy class actions before the federal courts of the First Circuit, plaintiffs have brought state tort and […]

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April 30, 2024

Supreme Court Declines to Take Up Circuit Split on Whether Courts May Grant Class Certification by Averaging Different Class Member Damages

Appeals, Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Class Certifications, Consumer Class Actions, First Circuit Decisions, Litigation, Privacy Class Actions, Standing, Supreme Court

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

On April 29, 2024, the Supreme Court issued an Order List indicating that certiorari had been denied in Brinker International, Inc. v. Steinmetz, Docket No. 23-648. The Eleventh Circuit Brinker Decision Brinker was a July 2023 Eleventh Circuit decision affirming class certification and holding that class members’ exposure of their payment information to the dark web […]

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Pierce Atwood is pleased to present this class action blog with a focus on decisions of the state and federal courts within the boundaries of the First Circuit. With decades of national class action experience and offices in every First Circuit state, our goal is to serve as a primary resource for companies that face class litigation in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, as well as to provide timely information about significant class action developments, strategies and trends on a national level.

Pierce Atwood’s Class Action Defense team has also started tracking filings and decisions in state and federal courts within the boundaries of the First Circuit in New England.

View our New England and First Circuit Class Action Tracker on our firm website.