Class Action

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court to hand down Arias and Amalgamated decisions Monday

Posted on June 26, 2009
This morning the Supreme Court announced that on Monday at 10:00 a.m., it will be handing down its decisions in the Arias and Amalgamated cases, which were argued in early April. These cases address, among other issues, whether formal class...

More Supreme Court developments

Posted on June 11, 2009
Today, the Supreme Court granted itself an extension of time (through August 14) to grant or deny the petition for rehearing in Tobacco (docket). Yesterday, the Supreme Court denied review and depublication in the Troyk case (docket). Justices Baxter, Chin...

Supreme Court grants review in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court

Posted on June 10, 2009
Today, the Supreme Court granted review (unanimously) in another significant Prop. 64 case, Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court, no. S171845. The Court of Appeal opinion is no longer citable as precedent. My original post on Kwikset is here. Thanks to...

Another blog hiatus and a request to readers relating to Tobacco

Posted on June 08, 2009
I'm coming up on a particularly busy period at work and am therefore putting the blog on hiatus once again. You can always reach me at my office by phone (415-788-4220) or by email at uclpractitioner@gmail.com. I will interrupt the...

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Petition for rehearing filed in Tobacco

Posted on June 04, 2009
On Tuesday, June 2, 2009, a petition for rehearing was filed in In re Tobacco Cases II, no. S147345. The answer will be due on Wednesday, June 10, and the Supreme Court's ruling can be expected by June 17 (unless...

New consumer law blog: Going to Court

Posted on June 03, 2009
Consumer Watchdog has launched a new blog, Going to Court, covering consumer law issues in California. On May 19, attorneys Pam Pressley and Harvey Rosenfield had an interesting and lengthy post on the Tobacco decision.

"Supreme Court Appointee Sotomayor?s Judicial Record in Class Actions"

Posted on June 02, 2009
Paul Karlsgodt, author of ClassActionBlawg.com, has a very interesting post on Judge Sotomayor's rulings in class action cases. According to Paul, she was a member of the three-judge panels in both In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation, 280 F...

Supreme Court affirms reversal of UCL/CLRA judgment: Miller v. Bank of America, NT & SA

Posted on June 01, 2009
This morning, the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal's reversal of a $1 billion verdict in a UCL/CLRA case. Miller v. Bank of America, NT & SA, ___ Cal.4th ___ (Jun. 1, 2009). The opinion contains no particular discussion...

"Consumers win with court's Prop. 64 decision"

Posted on June 01, 2009
Today's San Francisco Chronicle has an editorial on the Tobacco decision and Prop. 64.

Supreme Court to hand down opinion Monday in Miller v. Bank of America

Posted on May 29, 2009
The Supreme Court announced today that it will be handing down its opinion in Miller v. Bank of America, no. S149178, on Monday at 10:00 a.m. When it is posted, the opinion will be available at this link: Miller v....

Impact of Tobacco on the Walker/G&C Auto Body split in authority

Posted on May 29, 2009
I have previously written (see these two posts) about the split in authority respecting whether a plaintiff who has suffered "damages" has Prop. 64 standing to seek injunctive relief, even if the loss does not constitute recoverable restitution. The federal...

Recent Ninth Circuit CAFA decision: Davis v. HBSC Bank Nevada

Posted on May 28, 2009
I'm catching up a bit on opinions handed down while I was on a semi-hiatus from blogging. In Davis v. HBSC Bank Nevada, N.A., 557 F.3d 1026 (Mar. 4, 2009), the Ninth Circuit construed the term "citizen" for purposes of...

Recent Ninth Circuit class-action-related decisions: Chalk v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., Hunt v. Imperial Merchant Services, Inc., >Rodriguez v. West Publishing Corp., and Hatfield v. Halifax PLC

Posted on May 27, 2009
The Ninth Circuit has handed down a number of interesting opinions relating to class actions in recent months: In Chalk v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 560 F.3d 1087 (Mar. 27, 2009), the court struck down an arbitration clause with a class...

OFF-TOPIC BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court upholds Prop. 8: Strauss v. Horton

Posted on May 26, 2009
The African race was not in the contemplation of the framers of the Constitution when privileges and immunities were provided for the protection of the citizen. Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1856). Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall...

Enhanced remedies in UCL actions brought by senior citizens: Clark v. Superior Court (Nat'l Western Life Ins. Co.)

Posted on May 22, 2009
In Clark v. Superior Court (Nat'l Western Life Ins. Co.), ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (May 21, 2009), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Seven) held that Civil Code section 3345, which authorizes enhanced remedies in actions by senior citizens...

More amicus letters in support of review in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson)

Posted on May 21, 2009
Here are copies of six more amicus letters in support of the petition for review in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson), no. S171845: Amicus Letter of California Teamsters Public Affairs Council (dated 04/28/09) Amicus Letter of Consumer Attorneys of...

More coverage of In re Tobacco II Cases

Posted on May 20, 2009
The San Francisco Chroncile reported yesterday that "Class-action lawsuit over tobacco ads proceeds." The article quotes Mark Robinson (who argued on behalf of the plaintiffs in Tobacco) and Will Stern (who authored Prop. 64). There has been more law blog...

"In Loss for Big Tobacco, Calif. Supreme Court Loosens Standing to Sue Under Proposition 64"

Posted on May 19, 2009
In an article in this morning's Recorder, Mike McKee writes: "Big Tobacco and other major businesses took a hit Monday when the California Supreme Court ruled that class actions over alleged fraud can go forward, even if it's impossible to...

"California Supreme Court revives class-action suit against tobacco firms"

Posted on May 18, 2009
The Los Angeles Times blog, LA Now, already has a report on this morning's Tobacco opinion. An excerpt: The California Supreme Court decided 4-3 today that consumers can file class-action lawsuits against the tobacco industry and other businesses under a...

Supreme Court preserves UCL class actions in In re Tobacco II Cases

Posted on May 18, 2009
This morning, the Supreme Court preserved UCL class actions through its opinion In re Tobacco II Cases, ___ Cal.4th ___ (May 18, 2009). Here are some highlights from the majority opinion: The fraudulent business practice prong of the UCL has...

The opinion is up: In re Tobacco II Cases

Posted on May 18, 2009
The opinion is up. It is a 4-3 decision, with Justices Baxter, Corrigan, and Chin filing a concurring and dissenting opinion. Here is a paragraph from the introduction to the majority opinion by Justice Moreno: On review, we address two...

"Consumer class-action suits are on trial in California"

Posted on May 17, 2009
This morning's Los Angeles Times has an article anticipating tomorrow's Tobacco opinion. The article quotes Harvey Rosenfield, Sharon Arkin, Tim Blood, and Will Stern, among others.

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court to hand down In re Tobacco decision on Monday

Posted on May 15, 2009
Today, the Supreme Court announced that it will be handing down its decision in In re Tobacco II Cases, no. S147345, on Monday morning. The opinion should be available at this link: In re Tobacco II Cases, ___ Cal.4th ___...

Petition for review filed in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson)

Posted on May 11, 2009
On April 6, 2009, a petition for review was filed in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson), no. S171845. The answer and reply have also been filed, as well as a depublication request, and I've heard that multiple amicus letters...

New class member discovery decision: Safeco Ins. Co. v. Superior Court

Posted on May 04, 2009
In Safeco Ins. Co. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Apr. 30, 2009), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Three) held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing precertification discovery of class member contact...

Supreme Court takes up two cases involving UCL issues: Pineda v. Bank of America and Sullivan v. Oracle

Posted on April 22, 2009
Today, the Supreme Court took up two cases involving UCL issues. First, the Court granted review in Pineda v. Bank of America, no. S170758, in which the Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division Three) held that Labor Code ?section...

Supreme Court holds that the CLRA does not apply to life insurance: Fairbanks v. Superior Court

Posted on April 20, 2009
The Fairbanks opinion is up. Not surprisingly (in light of the oral argument report), the Supreme Court has held that life insurance is not a "good" or a "service" within the meaning of the CLRA. Fairbanks v. Superior Court (Farmers...

Supreme Court to hand down CLRA decision Monday: Fairbanks v. Superior Court

Posted on April 17, 2009
The Supreme Court just announced that it will be handing down its opinion in Fairbanks v. Superior Court (Farmers New World Life Ins. Co.), no. S157001, on Monday at 10:00 a.m. That is the case involving whether insurance is a...

Blog hiatus

Posted on April 13, 2009
The blog will be on hiatus for a few weeks, interrupted for significant events such as the Tobacco decision. Although I'm taking a brief break from blogging, I'm not taking a break from working. You can reach me by phone...

Oral argument report #2: Arias v. Superior Court (Angelo Dairy)

Posted on April 13, 2009
Many thanks to attorney Tom Kaufman for providing a second report on the Arias argument last week. Read Tom's report after the jump. By Tom Kaufman: Arias v. Superior Court Argument - 9:00 AM on April 8, 2009. Petitioner The...

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