Melanie A. Conroy – First Class Defense

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

July 18, 2024 / July 18, 2024 by Melanie Conroy | Leave a Comment

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

April 30, 2024 by Melanie Conroy

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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Part 4: Making a COVID-19 Tuition Suit Last

February 13, 2024 / February 13, 2024 by Sarah Remes

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 […]

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The Budget Saves Brandeis: An Update on COVID-19 Tuition Litigation

February 1, 2024 by Sarah Remes

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 […]

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Supreme Court Dismisses ADA Website Accessibility Class Action for Mootness, Vacates First Circuit Decision

January 11, 2024 / January 11, 2024 by Melanie Conroy

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 […]

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Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on Article III Standing of Testers to Bring ADA Website Accessibility Class Actions

October 5, 2023 / October 5, 2023 by Melanie Conroy

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 […]

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New England Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Class Action Filings Soar in 2023

September 8, 2023 by Melanie Conroy

Earlier in 2023, we launched our New England and First Circuit Class Action Tracker, as a tool to analyze class action litigation trends in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. In July, we updated our tracker to include data through the second quarter of 2023. A review of new filings submitted during that latest […]

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First Circuit Revives Data Breach Class Action Claims in Webb v. Injured Workers Pharmacy, LLC

July 27, 2023 by Melanie Conroy

Courts and class action counsel have been considering what kinds of injuries can confer standing to pursue federal claims following the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, which held that the defendants’ alleged actions that “deprived [plaintiffs] of their right to receive information in the format required by statute” was not sufficient […]

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Staying Put: Supreme Court Holds that District Courts Must Stay Proceedings Pending Arbitration Appeals

June 29, 2023 by Melanie Conroy

On June 23, 2023, in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, the Supreme Court resolved a deeply divided circuit court split and ruled that a district court must stay its proceedings while an interlocutory appeal on the question of arbitrability is ongoing. Justice Kavanaugh delivered the opinion of the Court, with Justices Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, and Barrett […]

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Part 2 – Slowing the Spread of Litigation: An Update on First Circuit COVID-19 Tuition Refund Class Actions

May 23, 2023 by Sarah Remes

Part 2: The Legal Backdrop In Part 1 of this series, we provided a brief overview and introduction of the Boston-based COVID-19 tuition refund class action cases, noting generally that most similar suits haven’t made it very far, as courts tend to rule early and often for the educational institution. Below is a brief discussion […]

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Authors: Melanie A. Conroy

Authors: Melanie A. Conroy

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

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

Part 4: Making a COVID-19 Tuition Suit Last

The Budget Saves Brandeis: An Update on COVID-19 Tuition Litigation

Supreme Court Dismisses ADA Website Accessibility Class Action for Mootness, Vacates First Circuit Decision

Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on Article III Standing of Testers to Bring ADA Website Accessibility Class Actions

New England Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Class Action Filings Soar in 2023

First Circuit Revives Data Breach Class Action Claims in Webb v. Injured Workers Pharmacy, LLC

Staying Put: Supreme Court Holds that District Courts Must Stay Proceedings Pending Arbitration Appeals

Part 2 – Slowing the Spread of Litigation: An Update on First Circuit COVID-19 Tuition Refund Class Actions