Class Action

Supreme Court Considers ?Inquiry Notice? Standard in Securities Class Actions

Posted on December 01, 2009
The Supreme Court heard argument today in the securities class action case, Merck & Co., Inc. v. Reynolds, No. 08-905 (U.S.).  The case involves allegations that the defendant defrauded investors by making false  statements about the health risks associated with the drug Vioxx...

If You?re an Inhabitant of the Planet Earth, A Lawsuit May Affect Your Rights

Posted on November 24, 2009
Science editor Mark Henderson has a story on the Times Online’s blog Eureka about what could be the largest representative action ever filed in the history of the world.  The complaint, filed with the UN Human Rights Committee, seeks to save every inhabitant of the planet (and perhaps the entire solar system) from what could be imminent [...

Sovereignty, Federalism and Class Actions

Posted on November 19, 2009
Daniel Wise of the New York Law Journal has an interesting article out today on a recent New York state court decision involving a complex dispute over assets of former Philippines dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, being held by Merrill Lynch in New York.  The court ordered that the funds be paid to satisfy part of a $2 billion judgment awarded to class [...

Another Common Reliance Theory Fails in Colorado

Posted on November 13, 2009
In April, the Colorado Supreme Court decided Farmers Ins. Exchange v. Benzing, 206 P.3d 812 (Colo. 2009), in which it rejected the “fraud on the market” theory of reliance in a consumer class action.  Now, Garcia v. Medved Chevrolet, Inc., No...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Bulletproof Blog Offers Expert Insight on Key Canadian Class Action Trend

Posted on November 12, 2009
In the latest installment of Bulletproof Blog’s series on class action trends from the plaintiffs’ perspective, Larry Smith interviews Canadian lawyer Won Kim.  Kim discusses a recent Ontario court ruling that allows U.S. plaintiffs’ firms to provide administrative support and legal expertise to their Canadian counterparts for class action litigation in Canada...

Notes from the 13th Annual National Institute on Class Actions (San Francisco)

Posted on November 05, 2009
I was not able to attend the National Institute on Class Actions program in San Fransisco, but class action notice expert Dr. Shannon R. Wheatman (swheatman@gmail.com), was there and she graciously agreed to send me her notes of what sounds like another great conference...

7th Circuit Issues Report on E-Discovery Principles

Posted on November 04, 2009
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has begun implementation of an electronic discovery pilot program, which will be conducted between October 1, 2009 and May 1, 2010.  The program is the result of recommenations of an e-discovery committee of private practitioners, in-house counsel, judges, and e-discovery consultants, “formed to consider what can be done to reduce the costs of [...

More on Cy Pres

Posted on October 29, 2009
Over the past week, I have received two separate requests for comment on cy pres awards to charity in class action settlements.  Evidently it’s on readers’ minds, so I thought I’d give some thoughts on the subject here. Cy pres distributions to charity are one of several ways of dealing with a common problem in class action settlements: unclaimed [...

Class Actions Finally Come to Italy

Posted on July 10, 2009
A Securities Docket post today tipped me off to this Reuters article discussing the enactment of “Italy’s first law establishing class actions.”  The law will take effect January 2010 and will apply only to conduct occuring after the law’s effective date...

Expert Testimony and the Rigorous Analysis Standard

Posted on July 10, 2009
Economist David Gulley, Ph.D., of Navigant Consulting, has authored an informative white paper entitled Recent Trends in Rule 23 Class Certification Expert Analysis.  Dr. Gulley’s article explores the expanding role of experts and increased scrutiny over expert opinion testimony in class certification proceedings in light of recent federal appellate decisions placing renewed emphasis on the rigorous analysis standard...

In Defense of the BigLaw Blog

Posted on July 07, 2009
The guys at the Drug and Device Law Blog have a post outlining “six things we’ve heard” about why no lawyers from the ten most profitable law firms have blogs.  Perhaps wisely, the’ve chosen to stay out of the fray by commenting further...

Credit Crisis Litigation Trends

Posted on July 02, 2009
Jaclyn Jaeger of Compliance Week authored a comprehensive article published yesterday highlighting trends in credit crisis-related securities class action lawsuits.  The article summarizes a June 15, 2009, NERA Consulting report entitled “An Update on the Credit Crisis Litigation: A Turn Towards Structured Products and Asset Management Firms...

South Korea?s First Class Action

Posted on June 26, 2009
The Korea Times reported today that South Korea’s first ever class action has been given a preliminary approval to move forward, as a local court selected a private equity fund as representative plaintiff.  According to the article, the suit is the first filed under a South Korean securities class action law that was passed in 2005...

What if Contingent Fees Worked in Reverse?

Posted on June 25, 2009
CBC business columnist Michael Hlinka has this modest proposal for how to prevent class action abuse in Canada: make unsuccessful plaintiffs’ class action attorneys pay the defendant an amount equal to the amount of the contingent fees that they stood to earn if they had won...

U.S. Supreme Court Considers Class Action Issues

Posted on June 24, 2009
This month’s edition of BNA, Inc.’s Class Action Litigation Reporter (available by subscription) tipped me off to three interesting class action-related cases pending before the United States Supreme Court: 1) Morrison v. National Australia Bank, No...

What Will New Consumer Finance Agency Mean For Class Actions?

Posted on June 17, 2009
According to a story on NPR this morning, the Obama administration is pushing to turn over regulatory power currently within the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve. One has to wonder whether the creation of a new consumer protection agency will have the effect of reducing class actions, either by preventing corporate misconduct or provoding [...

Judge Jack Weinstein on Judge Jack Weinstein

Posted on June 09, 2009
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein (E.D.N.Y), has become well known for his often-cited and sometimes controversial opinions in mass tort and class action cases.  He recently authored a commentary in the Cardozo Law Review’s new online journal de novo on some of his key decisions in cases involving subjects ranging from Agent Orange, asbestos, and tobacco to breast [...

Dutch Class Action Settlement A Sign of Things to Come?

Posted on June 02, 2009
As reported by various news sources today and summarized in this entry from Ben Hallman at The Am Law Litigation Daily, a Dutch court has approved a settlement of claims of a class of institutional investors against Royal Dutch Shell.  The settlement was approved under a 2005 Dutch law that allows collective settlements on an opt-out basis, although it [...

Litigation Funding for Representative Shareholder Actions in India

Posted on June 02, 2009
According to this article by Anindita Dey of the Business Standard yesterday, an Indian securities regulator has announced plans to fund a program to reimburse litigation expenses actions brought on behalf of investors for alleged illegal securities practices...

Sticking it to the Man in Canada, Class Action Style

Posted on May 28, 2009
While we here in the U.S. continue to litigate class actions over snake oil products and 75 cent charges on our cell phone bills, Canadian class action lawyers have been finding ingenious ways to use class actions to effectuate real social change.  The latest example, according to FP Legal Post,  is a class action filed in B...

Supreme Court Appointee Sotomayor?s Judicial Record in Class Actions

Posted on May 27, 2009
After hearing and reading countless media reports today about how Supreme Court Appointee Sonia Sotomayor’s  judicial record will be scrutinized between now and her confirmation, I got to wondering about her judicial record in class actions.  My research turned up a few key cases on class action issues, which I have summarized below...

More on Sotomayor, Class Actions and Business

Posted on May 27, 2009
To follow up with yesterday’s CAB entry on Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor, here are some key quotes from other entries  from around the web discussing her record in class actions and related litigation: Business Week:  ”When it comes to class-action lawsuits and securities-fraud cases, Sotomayor?s record holds as a pragmatist...

Predicting Claims Rates in Class Action Settlements

Posted on May 21, 2009
Thanks to Dan Trudeau of Rust Consulting for recommending a useful article authored by his colleague Tiffaney Allen entitled Anticipating Claims Filing Rates in Class Action Settlements.  The article is dated November 2008, but it was new to me.  The article provides only a basic summary of the many factors that can impact settlement claims rates, but it [...

California Supreme Court Issues Decision on UCL Standing Issues in In re Tobacco II Cases

Posted on May 19, 2009
The California Supreme Court today issued its highly awaited decision in In re Tobacco II Cases, No. S147345 (Cal., May 18, 2009).  The 4-3 majority opinion addressed two issues relating to standing in class actions filed under the California Unfair Competition Law (”UCL”): 1) the UCL “standing requirements are applicable only to the class representatives, and not all [...

Chinese Drywall Litigation: How Best to Protect Your Company

Posted on May 18, 2009
Baker & Hostetler’s products liability and construction litigation practice teams issued an Executive Alert today on class action and other litigation involving allegedly defective drywall manufactured in China.  This is a litigation trend that has been getting quite a bit of press lately...

How to Tell if Your Witness Is Lying

Posted on May 14, 2009
Although not directly related to class actions, Melanie Lindner of Forbes has an article today discussing tips on how to “sniff out a liar” that is worth reading for any litigator.  The article includes a link to a pictorial listing of simple tips on how to spot someone who is being less then honest...

Speeding Ticket? Don?t Just Fight it, File a Class Action

Posted on May 12, 2009
According to this story from the CBC News, a class action has been filed against the Canadian Province of Manitoba for its policies in issuing and prosecuting photo radar speeding tickets near construction areas.  The complaint alleges that the government violated the law by not placing signs properly to mark reduced speed zones and by attempting to enforce reduced speed [...

Save the Date - July 24 - Economic Crisis Litigation CLE

Posted on May 06, 2009
The Securities and Class Actions subsections of the Colorado Bar Association litigation are co-sponsoring a half-day CLE in connection with CLE Colorado, to be held the morning of July 24 at the CBA offices in Denver. The seminar will examine trends in litigation arising out of the current economic crisis in three key areas: securities, ERISA, [...

May 2009 Federalist Society Class Action Watch Now Available

Posted on May 06, 2009
The latest issue of the Federalist Society’s Class Action Watch is now up and available on the organization’s website.  Thanks to Randy Maniloff of White and Williams LLP, for the tip.  A synopsis of Maniloff’s own contribution to the issue, from the author himself, appears below...

Colorado Supreme Court Rejects ?Fraud on the Market? Theory in Consumer Insurance Class Action

Posted on April 27, 2009
The Colorado Supreme Court issued one of its most significant class action decisions in recent years today in Farmers Ins. Exch. v. Benzing, No. 07SC483 (Colo., April 27, 2009), rejecting the so-called “fraud on the market” theory of reliance and loss causation in an insurance class action...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.