Class Action

New Labor Law Class Action Complaints Fall Below 40% Level Among Categories Of Class Action Lawsuits Filed In California State And Federal Courts But Still Holds Top Spot Among New Class Action Filings

By Michael J. Hassen

To assist class action defense attorneys anticipate the types of cases against which they will have to defend in California, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe. This report covers the time period from July 9 - 15, 2010, during which time 50 new class actions were filed in these California state and federal courts, despite the fact courts were closed for the July 4th holiday. Labor law class actions typically top this list, often account for well over half of the total number of new class actions filed during any particular week. This last week, however, employment-related class action lawsuits dropped substantially, falling below 40%. This past week, new labor law class actions accounted for only 19 of the new complaints filed (38% of the total number of new class actions filed). The only other categories to break the 10% threshold mirrored the class actions which broke the threshold last reporting period, involving alleged violations of California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL), which includes false advertising with 16 new filings (representing 32% of the total number of new class actions filed), and more "me too" class actions involving the Apple iPhone, with 6 new class action filings (12%).

Full post as published by Class Action Defense Blog on July 17, 2010 (boomark / email).