Maine Appeals
First Class Defense
April 24, 2019

Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela: Class Arbitration Must Be Expressly Authorized
Class Arbitration, Supreme Court
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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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April 15, 2019

Massachusetts SJC: Rule 23 Governs Wage Act Claims, Rejected Offers of Judgment Do Not Moot Claims, and More
Class Certifications, Employment Class Actions, Massachusetts Decisions
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Every now and then a case comes along that rewards us class action nerds with an embarrassment of riches. Gammella v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., decided last week by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, is one such case. In it, the Court addressed a number of important class certification issues, some unique to Massachusetts […]

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April 11, 2019

A Class Settlement Checklist
Class Action Settlements
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Having heard good things about it for years, last month I finally got around to reading Dr. Atul Gawande’s book, The Checklist Manifesto, and have begun to give some thought regarding its application to class action practice. Proposed class action settlements are currently occupying much of my time, and my usual practice when drafting the […]

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March 20, 2019

Questions Regarding Cy Pres Settlements Remain after Frank v. Gaos
Class Action Settlements, Supreme Court
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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, […]

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February 27, 2019

Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Equitable Tolling of Rule 23(f)’s Time Limit to Petition for Interlocutory Appeal
Appeals, Supreme Court
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Yesterday, the Supreme Court in Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert unanimously held that Rule 23(f) is not subject to equitable tolling. After the District Court for the Central District of California decertified a class of consumers who alleged that Nutraceutical’s marketing of a dietary supplement violated California consumer-protection law, plaintiff Lambert filed a motion for reconsideration, […]

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February 19, 2019

In re Celexa and Lexapro – The First Circuit Weighs in on China Agritech and American Pipe Tolling
Class Certifications, First Circuit Decisions
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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 […]

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February 12, 2019

Amendments to Rule 23 Now in Full Swing
Appeals, Class Action Settlements, Class Notice
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On December 1, 2018, the amendments to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 took effect, principally altering portions of the Rule governing class action notice, settlement, and appeals. Although the amendments were approved earlier in 2018 by the United States Supreme Court, they had been in the works for some time. In 2014, a subcommittee of […]

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November 06, 2018

In re Asacol Antitrust Litigation: Article III Standing in Multi-State Class Actions
Antitrust Class Actions, Class Certifications, First Circuit Decisions, Jurisdiction
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In his October 17th post, Josh Dunlap describes in detail the First Circuit’s landmark ruling in In re Asacol Antitrust Litigation concerning classes that include uninjured members. As Josh points out, although the district court had referred to ascertainability in its decision certifying the class, the First Circuit opinion reversing class certification did not, and for good reason. […]

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October 17, 2018

In re Asacol Antitrust Litigation – An Antidote to In re Nexium and “Ascertainability-by-Affidavit”
Antitrust Class Actions, First Circuit Decisions, US District Court - Mass
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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, […]

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June 26, 2018

In Cullinane v. Uber, First Circuit Addresses Arbitration Clauses in Online Contracts
Arbitration, Class Arbitration, Consumer Class Actions, First Circuit Decisions
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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 […]

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