Class Actions Maine Decisions
July 16, 2020 / July 17, 2020 by Josh Dunlap
I’m pleased to say that I recently published an article, Class Actions: A Survey and Comparison of Federal Law and Maine State Law, that considers Maine class action law in light of federal law, particularly case law in the First Circuit. While class actions are prevalent at the national level, the story thus far has […]
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Antitrust Class Actions Class Certifications Consumer Class Actions First Circuit Decisions US District Court - Mass US District Court - Rhode Island
November 18, 2019 by Josh Dunlap
About a year ago, I observed that the First Circuit in In re Asacol Antitrust Litigation had constrained plaintiffs’ ability to rely on affidavits to prove injury-in-fact. In so doing, the First Circuit substantially curtailed its prior decision in In re Nexium Antitrust Litigation, which certified a class containing uninjured consumers because class members would […]
Class Arbitration Supreme Court
April 24, 2019 by Josh Dunlap
Class arbitration came back before the Supreme Court this term in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela. Today, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Lamps Plus, holding that, under the Federal Arbitration Act, “courts may not infer from an ambiguous agreement that parties have consented to arbitrate on a classwide basis.” Rather, class arbitration […]
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Class Action Settlements Supreme Court
March 20, 2019 / March 20, 2019 by Josh Dunlap
Today, in a case that was being watched closely for its potential ramifications for class settlements, the Supreme Court opted not to address the merits of the cy pres issues that were presented to it. Frank v. Gaos involved a settlement that would have distributed millions of dollars to cy pres recipients and class counsel, […]
Class Certifications First Circuit Decisions
February 19, 2019 / February 19, 2019 by Josh Dunlap
The Supreme Court meant what it said in China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh – that is the primary lesson from the First Circuit’s January 30th decision in In re Celexa and Lexapro Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation. As my partner, Don Frederico, explained in a blog post last year, the Supreme Court observed in China […]
Antitrust Class Actions First Circuit Decisions US District Court - Mass
October 17, 2018 / February 26, 2019 by Josh Dunlap
When last I wrote about ascertainability, I noted that a debate over the propriety of “ascertainability-by-affidavit” continued to percolate within the First Circuit even as lower courts relied on In re Nexium Antitrust Litigation to certify classes containing uninjured class members. Specifically, I noted a couple of developments. First, in In re Asacol Antitrust Litigation, […]
Arbitration Class Arbitration Consumer Class Actions First Circuit Decisions
June 26, 2018 / February 26, 2019 by Josh Dunlap
Yesterday the First Circuit weighed in on a hot topic – the enforceability of arbitration provisions in online contracts. In Cullinane, several plaintiffs brought a putative class action alleging that Uber had violated Massachusetts’ consumer protection statute by assessing certain fees. Uber filed a motion to compel arbitration under its Terms of Service, which contained […]
Antitrust Class Actions First Circuit Decisions US District Court - Mass US District Court - New Hampshire
December 7, 2017 / February 26, 2019 by Josh Dunlap
As various contributors to this blog have noted (here, here, and here), a divided panel of the First Circuit adopted a “loose” approach to the ascertainability requirement in In re Nexium Antitrust Litigation. Specifically, while acknowledging that “the definition of [a] class must be ‘definite,’” the majority concluded that this requirement could be satisfied by […]
Current Affairs Supreme Court
April 19, 2017 / February 26, 2019 by Josh Dunlap
This week, Justice Gorsuch donned his black robes and began hearing arguments alongside his new colleagues on the Supreme Court. With his elevation to the high court, Justice Gorsuch assumes many new responsibilities. Some, of the lighter kind, include opening the door during conferences with his colleagues and assuming oversight of the Court’s cafeteria menu. […]
