On March 30, 2021, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Transunion LLC v. Ramirez, No. 20-297, a case that could have far-reaching implications on absent class member standing, particularly where the injuries of these absent class members would be impossible or difficult to establish. The Court agreed to address whether Article III or Rule 23 permits a damages class action where the vast majority of the class suffered no actual injury, let alone an injury like what the class representative suffered.
Continue Reading Will No-Injury Class Actions Have Any Leg to Stand on? U.S. Supreme Court Hears Argument in TransUnion v. Ramirez
privacy
Coronavirus Class Actions—Part Three—Analyzing the Latest COVID-19 Class Actions in Banking, Privacy, Higher Education and Securities Law
By Drew Gann, Anthony Le & McGuireWoods LLP on
Posted in In The News
For those who haven’t previously been following, this is our third installment on COVID-19 class actions. The first installment was prospective and authored prior to any filed class actions. The second installment examined the first certified class and putative class actions filed in the mass tort and consumer spaces. In this installment, we discuss and…
The Revitalization of CIPA Claims in the New Age of “Smart” Speakers (Part I)
By Alicia A. Baiardo & McGuireWoods LLP on
Posted in Strategy
Welcome to a three-part series that provides an overview of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), examines recent CIPA litigation involving smart speakers, and proposes defenses in response to an alleged violation.
CIPA in the Age of Smart Devices
The California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA)[1]—traditionally used by law enforcement and the…
How to deal with the new “Mass FACTA” class actions
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
Massachusetts has seen a small uptick in class actions in the last eighteen months, particularly ones that cite Mass Gen. Law Ch. 93A, Masschusetts’s consumer protection law. David G. Thomas, James P. Ponsetto, and Michael E. Pastore of Greenberg Traurig have an explanation. In their Law360 article Behind The Class Action Surge Against …
Predominance and the Privacy Class Action – In re Hannaford Bros
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
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 …
Karlsgodt on Statutory Class Actions
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
Paul Karlsgodt (of the longstanding and outstanding Class Action Blawg) has published an article with the University of Denver Law Review’s Online Edition: Statutory Penalties and Class Actions: Social Justice or Legalized Extortion? Statutory Penalties is an excellent introduction to the problem of defending class actions based on statutory violations, and Karlsgodt’s focus on…
The Data Breach Class Action
By The Editors on
Posted in Strategy
For the most part, this blog has focused on tactics that defendants may use to oppose class certification. But another important part of class action defense is being alert to new trends in class-action practice. And, in the last few years, a new type of class action has arisen that is worth looking at more…