Maine Appeals
First Class Defense
March 22, 2013

“Class-Wide” Arbitration Revisited in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, U.S. No. 12-135: The Supreme Court Prepares to Weigh Back In
Class Arbitration
Practice area:

Last summer, I* wrote about the First Circuit’s June 27, 2012 decision in Download Fantastic Sams v FSRO Assoc, a case holding that, in the event of an arbitration provision that does not ex...

Continue Reading

March 16, 2013

The Distinct Injury Requirement is Alive and Well in Massachusetts Consumer Cases
Consumer Class Actions, Massachusetts Decisions
Practice area:

The patchwork of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decisions construing our consumer protection statute (Chapter 93A) has created a great deal of confusion, particularly over the last dec...

Continue Reading

March 08, 2013

Closer Scrutiny for Cy Pres Distributions?
Class Action Settlements
Authors:
Practice area:

The Third Circuit’s recent opinion in In re Baby Products Antitrust Litig. is noteworthy for its approach to cy pres distributions in class settlements, a topic that has also garnered recent...

Continue Reading

March 05, 2013

High Court Strikes a Blow to Securities-Fraud Defendants Opposing Class Certification
Class Action Settlements, Class Certifications
Authors:
Practice area:

In a watershed moment for class action securities litigation, last Wednesday the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Amgen, Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, making it ea...

Continue Reading

February 09, 2013

Seventh Circuit Upholds Decertification of Wage Case Where Individual Damages Hearings Would Be Required
Employment Class Actions
Practice area:

Last month, I expressed concern that a Seventh Circuit decision authored by Judge Posner in a consumer class action emphasized efficiency over fairness in deciding whether a class should be...

Continue Reading

January 18, 2013

District of Maine Weighs in on Wal-Mart and CAFA Jurisdiction
Consumer Class Actions, US District Court - Maine
Authors:
Practice area:

Just before the holidays, Judge Singal issued an order de-certifying a class in Loef v. First American Title Insurance Company. The Loef decision both provides an excellent example of the ch...

Continue Reading

January 15, 2013

Eighth Circuit Upholds Collective Action Waiver in Arbitration Agreement
Class Arbitration, Employment Class Actions
Authors:
Practice area:

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, upholding the enforceability of a class action waiver in a consumer arbitration agreement, was applauded by employe...

Continue Reading

January 11, 2013

Avoiding the Efficiency Trap
Consumer Class Actions
Authors:
Practice area:

As recently discussed on this blog, the Seventh Circuit – in an opinion authored by Judge Posner – reversed a district court’s denial of class certification regarding claims involving Whirlp...

Continue Reading

January 08, 2013

The Efficiency Trap
Consumer Class Actions
Practice area:

In a recent Seventh Circuit decision that has received much attention, Judge Posner explained the predominance requirement of Rule 23(b)(3) in a way that no doubt will be cited frequently by...

Continue Reading

December 27, 2012

A Question of Balance
Uncategorized
Practice area:

A few weeks ago I read a blog post by a contributor to Forbes, expressing concern that the Supreme Court is "trying to impose substantial restrictions on class actions."  The post gets off t...

Continue Reading

To top