A key U.S. Supreme Court decision has derailed a scheme that netted one so-called “professional plaintiff” more than $230,000 in individual settlements. The plaintiff, Cory Groshek of Green Bay, Wisc., applied for more than 500 jobs over the course of a year and a half, hoping to catch potential employers violating a disclosure requirement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) …
Javon Marshall — a former college athlete spearheading a putative class action against several broadcasters for uncompensated use of his likeness — has just seen the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court send him (and everyone “similarly situated”) back home without a parting gift. Marshall — like many others who believe the mere existence of intellectual property protections entitles them to a …
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau closes the comment period on its proposed rule to enrich trial lawyers at the expense of consumers. The Bureau misleadingly styles its proposal as one to regulate arbitration agreements. The truth is that the proposal is very intentionally designed for the singular goal of promoting class action lawsuits—the number one policy priority of the trial …
On January 20, 2016, the Supreme Court held in Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663, 672, 193 L. Ed. 2d 571 (2016) that an unaccepted pre-certification settlement offer of complete relief in a putative class action, made to an individual plaintiff, does not moot that plaintiff’s claims. As discussed in our previous coverage of Campbell-Ewald, the Supreme Court’s …
A Jasper County judge has denied a challenge to the formula used to calculate disability payments for Joplin firefighters and police officers. Circuit Judge David Mouton ruled in favor of the board of trustees for the Police and Firefighters Pension Fund and the city of Joplin in a lawsuit filed five years ago by a disabled firefighter and the firefighters union. Police officers did not join …
The marijuana legalization effort will appear on the November ballot, despite a legal battle mounted by opponents to get it tossed. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jo Lynn Gentry dismissed a …
Attorneys representing plaintiffs in a shareholder class action against health care company Castlight Health fully expect those allegedly wronged to accept a settlement. Details of the settlement against the San Francisco-headquartered company have been revealed, and it includes Castlight paying aggrieved share buyers $9.5 million. Castlight, a health information cloud-based …
Last September, federal judge George King ruled that “Happy Birthday to You,” the iconic song sung at children’s parties everywhere daily, was not subject to copyright protection as previously thought. Now free from the grasp of music publishing company Warner Chappell, it’s free to be used by anyone, anywhere, for any purpose, with only a specific arrangement covered by the 1035 copyright …
A California judge, in tossing lemons in the direction of Uber, has given the ride-hail company the most perfect excuse yet to make some lemonade. Hereâs why: Thursday, United States District Judge Edward Chen rejected Uberâs proposed class-action settlement with drivers in California and Massachusetts. The original suit sought to change the way drivers are classified, from benefitless …
A US district judge has rejected a proposed $100 million settlement in a pair of class action lawsuits filed in California and Massachusetts, saying the proposed settlement was neither fair nor adequate. “The settlement, mutually agreed by both sides, was fair and reasonable,” said Uber in a statement. “We’re disappointed in this decision and are taking a look at our options.”