I saw my first copyrighted class action complaint more than a decade ago. It seemed odd even then. The reason for the copyright was clear, even to a new lawyer like myself: it was to deter copycat class actions, where the new plaintiff just files the same complaint his rival wrote. (Plaintiffs’ greatest adversaries are
Motions Practice
Behavioral Economics, Scienter, and the PSLRA
By The Editors on
Posted in Motions Practice
Behavioral economics (or, the application of empirical psychology to economics) has been around for more than a decade, and its teachings have begun to influence both policymaking and legal strategy. So it makes sense that at some point, someone would try to apply it to class action practice.
In her article "Behavioral…
No Right to Bring a Class Action – American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant
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Posted in Motions Practice
At the end of last week, the Supreme Court decided American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, which further refined the Court’s approach to arbitration of class actions. Most importantly, it eliminated the "vindication of rights" exception to enforcing arbitration clauses. (That was the doctrine that held that a court need not…
The ALI & Cy Pres – In re USF
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Posted in Motions Practice
Today’s case, In re Universal Serv. Fund Telephone Billing Practices Litig., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80204 (D. Kan. Jun. 7, 2013), provides an unusual situation for a class action. First of all, it involves a verdict in a class action trial. Second, it is one of the first trial court opinions to pay attention…
Mootness Controversy Still Live – Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk
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Rule 68 offers of judgment have been controversial in class action practice for quite some time. Proponents of the tactic believe that it offers a valuable means of limiting frivolous lawsuits: where there are really only a few affected claimants, an offer of judgment can force them to face up to the costs of meritless…
Reverse Auctions, Motions to Stay, and Legal Realism: Branca v. Iovate Health Sciences USA, Inc.
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Two plaintiffs’ firms filed nearly identical class actions against a dietary supplement company, alleging that one of its weight loss supplement didn’t work. The cases were filed within two weeks of each other, one in federal court (Branca v. Iovate Health Sciences USA, Inc.), and one in California state court (Garcia…
Confidential Witness Confidential II – City of Livonia Employee Retirement Sys. v. Boeing Corp.
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Two years ago, I wrote about the difficulties defendants face when securities plaintiffs invoke confidential witnesses in their complaints. The case that prompted that discussion, City of Livonia Employee Retirement System v. Boeing Corp., now has a sequel. As it turns out, both parties appealed the opinion below: the plaintiffs because the court below…
Empirical Evidence of the Importance of the MTD in Securities Cases
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Posted in Motions Practice
Back in January, NERA Economic Consulting published yet another interesting paper, entitled Dynamic Litigation Analysis: Predicting Securities Class Action Settlements as a Case Evolves, by Dr. Ronald Miller.
Using the data NERA has collected on securities class actions over 20 years, Dr. Miller comes to some interesting conclusions about motions practice in securities…
CAFA Jurisdiction and the Entity Theory – Standard Fire Ins Co v. Knowles
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Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Standard Fire Insurance v. Knowles. The question the Court faced in this case was whether a plaintiff may avoid removal of a class action under CAFA by stipulating that the case is worth less than $5 million, the statutory amount-in-controversy requirement.
The Knowles opinion–which was…
Securities Class Actions and Forward-Looking Statements – Scandlon v. Blue Coat Sys., Inc.
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Blue Coat Systems, Inc. was a web security firm that, in 2008, tried to break into the growing field of wide-area network optimization by acquiring a company called Packeteer, Inc. The move was supposed to secure long-term growth, but arguably had the opposite effect.
On May 27, 2010, Blue Coat issued some financial results and…