Maine Appeals
First Class Defense
March 15, 2017

CAFA, PART II?
Class Action Fairness Act
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In February 2017, Representative Goodlatte introduced the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017. The Act, as with its 2015 predecessor, covers a lot of ground. It permits certification of damages classes only where “each proposed class member suffered the same type and scope of injury.” It precludes certain conflicts of interest between class […]

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January 26, 2017

Ninth Circuit Widens Circuit Split on Ascertainability in Briseno v. ConAgra Foods, Inc.
Class Certifications, Consumer Class Actions
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On this blog, we have previously written about the growing split among the federal circuits concerning courts’ approaches to ascertainability. The Third Circuit, in a string of cases within the last five years, adopted a test requiring that class members must be identifiable without extensive and individualized fact-finding or “mini-trials,” and a plaintiff must present […]

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January 17, 2017

Supreme Court Will Hear Class Action Waiver Cases
Class Arbitration, Employment Class Actions, Supreme Court
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Last week, the Supreme Court consolidated and agreed to hear three appeals of Circuit Court decisions concerning whether class action waivers contained in employment arbitration agreements infringe on employees’ rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.  According to the schedule currently in place, briefing on these cases will commence in late February […]

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January 03, 2017

Fifth Circuit Reaffirms Enforceability of Class Action Waivers in Employment Arbitration Agreements, But Their Fate Remains Unclear
Arbitration, Class Arbitration, Employment Class Actions
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Employers commonly use arbitration agreements to minimize the expense and exposure of employment-related claims.   By mandating arbitration of employment disputes, they hope to ensure that these matters are resolved in a cost-effective and confidential manner.  Many arbitration agreements go a step further, requiring employees to pursue their claims individually, and to waive their right to […]

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December 04, 2016

District of New Hampshire Denies Remand Under CAFA’s Local Controversy Exception
Class Action Fairness Act, US District Court - New Hampshire
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On November 30th, in Brown v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., United States District Judge Joseph Laplante of the District of New Hampshire denied plaintiffs’ motion to remand two related class action lawsuits based on allegations that defendants had caused a release of toxic chemicals from a manufacturing plant that contaminated nearby wells and water supplies.  […]

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November 30, 2016

First Circuit Affirms Tough Standard for Alleging Securities Fraud; Revives One Claim Against Local Drug Maker
Current Affairs, First Circuit Decisions, Securities Class Actions
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On November 28, 2016, the First Circuit upheld the dismissal of all but one of the class action securities fraud claims against Cambridge, MA drug company, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., reaffirming the exacting pleading standards that enable defendants to put an early end to reflexive stock-drop lawsuits.  In doing so, the First Circuit also adopted strict […]

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October 11, 2016

In a Groundbreaking Decision, Third Circuit Provides Framework for Evaluating Numerosity
Class Certifications, Third Circuit Decisions
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One of the least disputed elements of class certification is Rule 23(a)(1) numerosity, and so there is relatively little analysis from the courts about it. Last month, however, a divided panel of the Third Circuit provided a detailed analysis of the purposes of numerosity and the factors that district courts should employ in making numerosity […]

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August 01, 2016

Bellerman v. Fitchburg Gas & Electric Light Co. – Lack of Injury in Massachusetts Consumer Claims
Consumer Class Actions, Massachusetts Decisions
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In 2014, we posted about the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Bellermann v. Fitchburg Gas & Electric Light Co.  In that case, plaintiffs sought relief under the Massachusetts consumer protection statute, G.L. c. 93A, because of the defendant utility’s alleged failure properly to prepare and plan for a major winter storm, and its allegedly […]

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July 06, 2016

District of Massachusetts Grapples with Campbell-Ewald’s Unanswered Questions
Consumer Class Actions, US District Court - Mass
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Chief Judge Saris and Judge Sorokin of the District of Massachusetts recently tackled questions left unanswered by the Supreme Court’s opinion earlier this year in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663 (2016) (see Don Frederico’s prior post for a full discussion of Campbell-Ewald). In South Orange Chiropractic Center, LLC v. Cayan LLC, 2016 […]

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May 17, 2016

Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins and the No-Injury Class Action
Consumer Class Actions, Supreme Court
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Class action practitioners have been closely watching Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, a case before the Supreme Court on appeal from the Ninth Circuit.  Spokeo presented the Court with the opportunity to decide whether a plaintiff may maintain a class action absent any injury other than the violation of a statutory right.

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