Maine Appeals
First Class Defense
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:
Practice area:

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 […]

Continue Reading

July 31, 2024

In Trio of Decisions, Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Splits on Arbitration
Arbitration, Class Action Litigation, Supreme Court
Authors:
Practice area:

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 […]

Continue Reading

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:
Practice area:

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 […]

Continue Reading

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:
Practice area:

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 […]

Continue Reading

February 13, 2024

Part 4: Making a COVID-19 Tuition Suit Last
Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Class Certifications, Legislation, Litigation, Massachusetts Decisions, US District Court - Mass
Authors:
Practice area:

We recently highlighted two Boston-based COVID-19 tuition refund class action suits, against Brandeis University and Boston College, and the impact of a provision in the Commonwealth’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget that grants retroactive immunity from claims arising out of tuition or fees paid for the Spring 2020 term. In both cases, with orders issued just […]

Continue Reading

February 01, 2024

The Budget Saves Brandeis: An Update on COVID-19 Tuition Litigation
Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Current Affairs, First Circuit Decisions, Litigation, Massachusetts Decisions, US District Court - Mass
Authors:
Practice area:

In Part 2 of our series on our Massachusetts and Boston-based COVID-19 tuition refund class action suits, we reviewed the legal backdrop of this wave of class action litigation and explored some common pitfalls in education-based claims, noting that even where cases are able to proceed based on adequate framing of the claims and underlying […]

Continue Reading

January 11, 2024

Supreme Court Dismisses ADA Website Accessibility Class Action for Mootness, Vacates First Circuit Decision
Appeals, Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Consumer Class Actions, First Circuit Decisions, Jurisdiction, Litigation, Standing, Supreme Court, US District Court - Maine
Authors:
Practice area:

At the close of 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of petitioner Acheson in Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer as moot and vacated the underlying decision by the First Circuit that Laufer had constitutional standing to bring her ADA claims. The decision came as no surprise following the Justices’ sharp focus on mootness during […]

Continue Reading

October 19, 2023

District of Rhode Island Rules that Class Action Waivers are Not Enforceable Outside of Arbitration
Arbitration, Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Consumer Class Actions, Litigation, US District Court - Rhode Island
Practice area:

Earlier this month, in Elsie Metcalfe v. Grieco Hyundai, LLC, the Rhode Island Federal District Court invalidated a class action waiver in an agreement without an arbitration clause that was therefore not subject to the Federal Arbitration Act. In Metcalfe, Plaintiff Elsie Metcalfe leased a car from Defendant Grieco Hyundai, LLC, in May 2019.  The […]

Continue Reading

October 05, 2023

Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on Article III Standing of Testers to Bring ADA Website Accessibility Class Actions
Class Action Litigation, First Circuit Decisions, Jurisdiction, Standing, Supreme Court
Authors:
Practice area:

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, a case that we have summarized in prior blog posts.  Just months ago, there was doubt whether the Supreme Court would hear the case at all. While the Court granted Acheson Hotels’ petition for a writ of certiorari in March […]

Continue Reading

September 15, 2023

Sixth Circuit Rejects Traditional Certification Process in FLSA Collective Actions, Deepening Circuit Court Divide
Fair Labor Standards Act
Practice area:

In Clark v. A&L Homecare & Training Ctr., LLC, 68 F.4th 1003 (6th Cir. 2023), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently created a new standard for its district courts to employ when determining whether to authorize notice in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cases, or what other Circuits typically refer to as the “conditional […]

Continue Reading

To top