First Class Defense – Pierce Atwood Blogs

First Class Defense

January 28, 2026

First Circuit Five: Top 5 Class Action Decisions of 2025

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

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

A review of the year’s most impactful privacy, data breach, arbitration, and technology-driven class action rulings from the First Circuit and the District of Massachusetts. The First Circuit and the District of Massachusetts issued consequential class action decisions in 2025 that are likely to shape the trajectory of privacy, data breach, arbitration, and technology-driven litigation […]

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January 07, 2026

First Circuit Rejects Post-Data Breach Indemnification Claims Against Technology Vendor

Class Action Litigation, First Circuit Decisions, Privacy Class Actions

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

The First Circuit recently affirmed a District of Massachusetts decision granting summary judgment in litigation arising from a 2018 data breach involving protected health information (PHI). In Axis Insurance Co. v. Barracuda Networks, Inc., the court held that the plaintiff could not establish equitable indemnification or contractual liability under Massachusetts law. The decision reinforces limits […]

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November 26, 2025

District of Massachusetts Has Personal Jurisdiction Over Out-of-State Adtech Defendant in Geolocation Case

Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Consumer Class Actions, Jurisdiction, Litigation, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

Earlier this fall, the District of Massachusetts issued another notable decision in the growing wave of privacy litigation that, as discussed, raises difficult questions concerning standing, jurisdiction, and statutory interpretation. In Lionetta v. InMarket Media, LLC, Judge Kobick denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging that InMarket Media, LLC collected and sold […]

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November 12, 2025

District of Massachusetts Allows Higher-Ed Student Data Breach Claims to Survive

Class Action Litigation, Consumer Class Actions, Privacy Class Actions, Standing, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

In a recent blog post, we explained how Webb v. Injured Workers Pharmacy, LLC has become a touchstone for courts analyzing Article III standing in data breach class actions, citing Shea v. American International College as a recent example. This post explores the Shea decision in greater depth. On September 5, 2025, Judge Angel Kelley of […]

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October 22, 2025

Two Years After Webb: First Circuit Courts Find Standing in Data Breach Class Actions

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

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

The First Circuit’s 2023 decision in Webb v. Injured Workers Pharmacy, LLC has become a touchstone for courts analyzing Article III standing in data breach class actions. In a previous post, we discussed why Webb revived a previously dismissed data breach class action. Since Webb, the District of Massachusetts repeatedly cited the decision’s reasoning to […]

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October 02, 2025

District of Massachusetts Rejects Arbitration Clause Based on Unilateral Amendment Without Notice

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

Authors:

Practice area:

On May 19, 2025, in Pizza Hazel, Inc. et al. v. Am. Express Co., et al., a Magistrate Judge in the District of Massachusetts recommended that the district court deny American Express’s motion to compel arbitration on the grounds that the contract allowed American Express to unilaterally amend the arbitration agreement without notice to the […]

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September 18, 2025

MOVEit Data Breach Litigation: District of Massachusetts Allows Bellwether Negligence and Consumer Protection Claims to Proceed

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

Authors:

Nicholas L. Anastasi

Practice area:

Litigation

On July 31, 2025, the District of Massachusetts issued two rulings largely denying motions to dismiss filed by software developer Progress Software Corporation (“Progress”) and certain direct users or vendor contracting entities employing Progress’ software product, MOVEit (the “Bellwether Defendants”). In the In re: MOVEit Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 1:23-md-03083-ADB, the Court […]

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September 03, 2025

Why Confidential Witness Allegations Fail the Tellabs Test in the District of Massachusetts

Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Securities Class Actions, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

While securities class action filings are on the rise within the First Circuit, the District of Massachusetts continues to apply a high degree of scrutiny to securities fraud allegations, including particularized facts necessary to establish a strong inference of scienter. In this final installment of our three-part series, we examine the District of Massachusetts’ approach […]

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August 13, 2025

Three Key Reasons Why Securities Class Actions Are Failing on Material Misrepresentation Grounds in the District of Massachusetts

Class Actions, First Circuit Decisions, Litigation, Securities Class Actions, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

As securities class action filings continue to rise in the First Circuit, courts in the District of Massachusetts are setting a high bar for pleadings—especially when it comes to alleged material misrepresentations. This second installment in our three-part series examines how recent decisions in the District of Massachusetts have applied the PSLRA’s safe harbor provision, […]

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July 29, 2025

District of Massachusetts Sees Rise in Securities Fraud Class Actions Despite Dismissal Risks

Class Action Litigation, Class Actions, Securities Class Actions, US District Court - Mass

Authors:

Melanie A. Conroy

Practice area:

Class Action Defense

This is part one of a three-part series exploring the recent uptick in securities class action filings in the First Circuit and examining recent decisions issued by the District of Massachusetts. This post examines current trends in securities class action filings and recent decisions on motions to dismiss in the District of Massachusetts. Securities Class […]

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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 also tracks 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.