The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, introduced in the U.S. House and approved by the Judiciary Committee last week, proposes far-reaching changes to the rules governing multidistrict litigations (MDLs), removals and class actions. Sponsored by the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va), the bill’s stated purpose is to …
A federal judge certified a nationwide class of Stericycle consumers in a federal class action lawsuit alleging the company misled its customers (including veterinary clinics, medical clinics and medical labs) through a scheme involving automatically increasing prices, according to law firm Hagens Berman. “We’re incredibly pleased with this enormous victory for the thousands …
Should a judge be able to demand Tennessee and its legislative body provide the full amount of money for schools detailed in its …
A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed most of an investor lawsuit accusing several major banks of conspiring to manipulate the benchmark European Interbank Offered Rate, or Euribor, and related derivatives. In a 100-page decision, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan said several claims in the proposed class action must fail because of a lack of evidence …
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared evenly divided on the right of Mexican parents to file a lawsuit in American courts against a U.S. border agent who killed their teenage son by firing a shot across the U.S.-Mexican border. Justice Anthony Kennedy and other conservatives on the court voiced skepticism about the parents’ lawsuit, while the court’s four liberal justices indicated they …
In an appeal involving the settlement of four separate class actions under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by electing to use the “percentage-of-the-benefit” method to calculate class counsel’s fee award, as opposed to the “lodestar” method. The Eighth Circuit …
Texas was sanctioned and its attorney general, Ken Paxton, reprimanded as deficient on Friday by a federal judge for ignoring court orders to hand over documents related to a lawsuit over the state’s voter registration practices, according to a published report. The Austin American-Statesman reported that U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio has complained the …
A federal judge has ordered sanctions against the state of Texas for blowing past deadlines and ignoring a court order to hand over thousands of pages of documents in a lawsuit challenging its voter registration practices. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office’s “months-long delay” in producing the documents “has been disruptive, time consuming, cost consuming” and has burdened plaintiffs …
Last week, the United States Supreme Court informed litigants in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that it is pushing the case to its October 2017 term. The lawsuit, which rose up through the Western District of Wisconsin and the Seventh Circuit, presents the High Court with a chance to resolve a robust circuit split on the question whether mandatory arbitration clauses in …
An appeals court has upheld a judge’s dismissal of Mayor Stephanie Miner’s lawsuit against Cor Development over the property tax deal the company got for its $342 million Syracuse Inner Harbor project. The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Rochester unanimously dismissed on Friday the city’s appeal of Judge James Murphy’s year-old order. Miner sued Cor on Dec. 15, …