Legal News

Courts Raising Bar for Data Breach Class Actions

Reports of data breaches have become commonplace, prompting U.S. courts to raise the bar on associated class action lawsuits. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in early August declined to grant standing to a class action filed in the wake of a data breach at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Hackers compromised health insurer CareFirst’s IT …


U.S. Appeals Court Dismisses AT&T Data Throttling Lawsuit

A federal appeals court in California on Monday dismissed a U.S. government lawsuit that accused AT&T of deception for reducing internet speeds for customers with unlimited mobile data plans once their use exceeded certain levels. The company, however, could still face a fine from the Federal Communications Commission regarding the slowdowns, also called “data throttling.” The U.S. …


Metro Loses Open Records Lawsuit

Judge rules city violated ‘prompt’ statute in Public Records Act In a significant victory for open records proponents across the state, Metro Nashville has lost a lawsuit over the amount of time its police department takes to respond to and fulfill open records requests. The Tennessee Public Records Act states, “The custodian of a public …


Court Tosses Data Speed Reduction Lawsuit Against AT&T

A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit by federal officials that claimed AT&T misled millions of smartphone customers with unlimited data plans who had their Internet speeds cut. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that AT&T was exempt from the prohibition against unfair and deceptive practices that the Federal …


Eleventh Circuit Affirms Dissolution of Class Action Consent Decree Due to Plaintiffs’ Inaction

Seyfarth Synopsis: After the City of Jacksonville stopped following a class action consent decree that required it to hire a proportionate number of black and white firefighters, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the motion and dissolution of the consent decree on the grounds that the plaintiffs waiting fifteen years to bring their show …



Caesars Shielded From Multi-Billion Dollar Lawsuit by Brief Extension

A federal judge on Tuesday gave Caesars Entertainment a five-week shield from $13 billion in lawsuits, capping a week of frantic court hearings as the casino group struggles to salvage a high-stakes debt-cutting plan for its bankrupt subsidiary. Judge Robert Gettleman said at an emergency court hearing in Chicago that he will decide on Oct. 5 whether he should overturn a U.S. Bankruptcy Court …


Officer Who Fatally Shot Fleeing Suspect Not Granted Immunity From Lawsuit

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a lawsuit against a police officer who fatally shot a fleeing suspect can move forward. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision Aug. 22 finding Flint Township police officer Matthew Needham is not entitled to qualified immunity for the July 16, 2014, fatal shooting of Dominique Lewis. Lewis’ family filed the …


Trader Joe’s vs. Pirate Joe’s: Lawsuit Over Knockoff Store Is Revived

A U.S. court has the authority to hear a trademark lawsuit by grocery chain Trader Joe’s against a man who purchased the company’s products and resold them in Canada at Pirate Joe’s, a store designed to mimic a real Trader Joe’s, a federal appeals court said Friday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court’s decision to dismiss California-based …


Refugees Win Lawsuit Allowing Them to Attend Lancaster High School

Six teenage refugees won a lawsuit Friday that would allow them to attend Lancaster’s McCaskey High School after school administrators allegedly diverted them into an alternative school. The plaintiffs, who range in age from 17 to 21, claimed that they were subject to routine pat-downs and were not properly instructed in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) at the district’s chosen school, …