For the past several months, Monsanto has been in court challenging California’s decision to add the chemical glyphosate—the active ingredient in its herbicide Roundup—to the Proposition 65 list. It recently faced a setback when the California Supreme Court rejected Monsanto’s
Class Action & Mass Torts
Pleading Under the Federal Rule 12(B)(6) Standard is not a Requirement in Assessing the Applicability of CAFA’s “Local Controversy” Exception
MD Haynes, Inc. v. Valero Marketing and Supply Co., 2017 WL 1397744 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 19, 2017).
In this action, a federal court in Texas found that while the plaintiffs did not plead according to federal standards or explicitly…
No Certification Where Loss of Data Prevents Class Identification
Junk fax case presents opportunities for some employment cases
Identifying potential class members is not an issue in most employment cases, as the employer likely has any number of employment records for each of the claimants, including personnel files, electronic…
Revisiting the Enforceability of Class Action Waivers in Consumer Financial Contracts
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has published the final Arbitration Agreements Rule, which impacts the way claims involving consumer financial products and services are handled in the future, including a prohibition against providers of such products and services from…
A Court Cannot Accept A Plainly Overbroad Reading Of The Complaint To Conclude That The Amount In Controversy Is Satisfied
Slocum_v_Gerber_Products_Co, 2016 WL 3983873 (W.D. Mo. July 25, 2016).
In this action, the United States District Court, Western District of Missouri, Central Division (the “District Court”) granted the plaintiff’s Motion to Remand finding defendant Gerber Products Co. (“Gerber”) failed…
Massachusetts District Court Denies Certification for Claims of Unpaid Meal Breaks
It has become almost part of the plaintiff playbook to bring wage and hour claims despite lawful employer policies by claiming some sort of “class-wide” policy of deviating from those policies. Sadly, this tactic works at least as often as…
Defective Affidavit of Defendant’s Employee, Without More, Is Insufficient Evidence To Support Assertion Of Federal Jurisdiction Under CAFA
Strembitskyy v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company, No. C16-0691RSL, 2016 WL 3640315 (W.D. Wash. July 8, 2016).
The plaintiff brought a putative class action in the state court asserting claims for breach of contract, violation of the Washington…
California Supreme Court Denies Sequenced Discovery in Representative PAGA Action
On July 13, 2017, the California Supreme Court rejected lower court holdings that limited an employee’s ability to secure statewide employee contact and employment information in a representative PAGA action, when the plaintiff only worked in one of the employer’s…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Adopts New Rule Barring Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements
As expected, and with few changes, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau adopted its proposed rule barring financial companies regulated by the agency from including class action waivers in arbitration agreements. Arbitration clauses in new contracts offering a consumer financial product…
Plaintiff as “Master of the Claim” May Base his Claims on Only State Law to Avoid Federal Jurisdiction under CAFA
Steven Archavage v Professional Account Services, 2017 WL 1162911 (M.D. Penn. March 29, 2017).
In this action, while remanding the case to the state court, the United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania (the “District Court”), found that…