Gabriel Carrera, along with many others like him, bought Bayer’s One-A-Day WeightSmart diet supplement. Apparently, he didn’t lose the weight he wanted, because he filed a class action alleging that Bayer had fraudulently claimed that the supplement’s use of epigallocetechin gallate (a green tea extract) boosted metabolism and assisted weight loss.
It turns out, however…
At this point in my practice, there are certain judges whose opinions I just automatically look for: the Chicago triumvirate of Posner, Easterbrook, and Wood; the often-covered Judge Rakoff in the S.D.N.Y.; and Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California. Regardless of the result–and there have been a few I’ve privately bemoaned–you can…
Kathleen Seabron filed a lawsuit challenging the red tape her insurance company required before paying an automobile accident claim as bad faith. After the insurer removed her claim to federal court, she turned it into a bad faith "class action" and added several other plaintiffs. The result was Seabron v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co…
This week’s case, Hughes v. Kore of Indiana Ent., Inc., No. 1:11-cv-1329-JMS-MJD, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95849 (S.D. Ind. Jul. 10, 2013), involved a certified class alleging violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. (EFTA–which requires banks to post fee notices physically on their ATMS–is one of those statutes that, at least…
A few weeks ago, with little fanfare, the Tenth Circuit clarified the standard of evidence it requires for class certification, and the result is one that will be extremely helpful for defendants. The case, Wallace B. Roderick Revocable Living Trust v. XTO Energy, Inc., No. 12-3176, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 13842 (10th Cir.
In 2006, childcare providers in the state of Michigan unionized, primarily so that they could negotiate state low-income subsidies with Michigan’s Department of Human Services. The vote to unionize was largely one-sided, but not unanimous. Similarly, few childcare providers voted against the subsequent collective bargaining agreement, which required participants in Michigan’s Child Development and Care…
In late 2007 and early 2008, the Hannaford Brothers Grocery stores suffered a security breach: thieves stole the debit and credit card data of thousands of customers. As one might imagine, a number of lawsuits followed, including a number that were consolidated into litigation in the District of Maine. After extensive pretrial litigation …
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court quietly granted certiorari in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Butler:
Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 569 U. S. ___ (2013).
The case below, Butler v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., had been notable because it…
Class action practice provides plaintiffs with some odd pleading incentives. Two that cause continual problems are the need to keep things vague (in order to emphasize commonalities over any variations that may arise from more specific details) and the need to frame one’s complaint as broadly as possible to maximize the potential recovery in settlement…
The merits based (or "fail-safe") class (e.g., "everyone who was a victim of defendant’s fraud") has long been considered one of the best examples of a poorly-defined class: because the class is defined in terms of the merits, the class size fluctuates based on the verdict. A verdict for the plaintiff creates a sizable class…
