Legal News

Structuring a Settlement After Asserting Class Members Did Not Suffer Any Concrete Injury

Frequently, a class action complaint will set forth an elaborate theory of why the defendant’s actions were negligent or wrongful, but fall short when trying to identify how that conduct has harmed the class members. This kind of complaint invites a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the plaintiff has failed to demonstrate constitutional standing by identifying a “concrete, particularized,…


Counsel’s Corner: DS News Interviews Benjamin Diehl – Challenge of CFPB’s Constitutionality Begins

Benjamin Diehl is a partner with Stroock, Stroock & Lavan. Diehl practices in both the Financial Services/Class Action and Government Relations Practice Groups. Diehl recently discussed with DS News the trial in the case of PHH Corp. v. CFPB and the implications of the case for the financial industry. PHH, a nonbank mortgage lender based in New Jersey, is challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Director Richard Cordray …


Courthouse Doors Creak Open for Clients

When clients enter their financial advisors’ offices and express frustrations about a retail bank’s mistakes or overcharges, the damages are usually too small to merit any individual legal action. “It’s $24 here and $45 there, and often there is very little you can do,” says Debra Brennan Tagg, managing director of Brennan Financial Services in Addison, Texas. But, it is expected that when the …


The Government Paves the Way for Students to File Class-Action Lawsuits

The U.S. government wants to make it easier for student loan borrowers to sue their colleges when they believe they’ve been wronged. The Department of Education released a proposal Friday evening that would make it more difficult for colleges to require students to settle disputes in arbitration, a private, closed-door process that critics say prevents students from getting a fair shake when …


Do You Have to Disclose a Government Investigation? Practical Considerations, Legal Standards, and Recent Case Law

After receiving an inquiry from a government agency, such as a subpoena, a Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”), or an informal request for information, public companies ask whether they must disclose publicly that they may be under investigation. A corollary question to public disclosure is how broadly to disclose internally, to lenders, or to D&O insurers. The standards for disclosing …


Justice Ginsburg’s Warning to the American Worker

by Ian Millhiser Feb 1, 2016 8:00 am Lochner v. New York is one of the Supreme Court’s great anti-precedents. Typically taught in law schools as an example of how judges should not behave, Lochner rested on a fabricated “right to contract” that, in effect, gave employers broad license to exploit their workers. The so-called right invented in Lochner and similar cases later formed the basis for …


The Compliance Downside of Big Data

Top HR Trends of 2016 2/4 at at 1 PM EST by clicking here. The use of big data in human resources is all the rage today. More and more companies, at least the large ones, are collecting and using employee and prospect data to be able to make determinations about their workforces.


Consumers Lose U.S. Appeal Over Credit Card Arbitration Clauses

NEW YORK Nov 19 The credit card industry won a big legal victory on Thursday as a federal appeals court rejected claims by a group of consumers that big issuers colluded to require that disputes be settled in arbitration rather than through class action lawsuits. By a 3-0 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court ruling that American Express Co , Citigroup Inc …