Circuit

8th Cir. Holds Trial Court Did Not Err in Using ‘Percentage of the Benefit’ Over ‘Lodestar’ in TCPA Class Fee Award Dispute

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 …


[Opinion] Eighth Circuit Undoes Target Data Breach Settlement Class

Today, we at Class Action Countermeasures are proud to post an analysis of the recent Target litigation appellate opinion by members of our class action and data privacy groups: Laura A. Lange, Shawna J. English, and Bethany Lukitsch. The $10 million settlement class in the Target data breach case was unraveled by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in a recent decision that will force the …


Waiting for Gorsuch: SCOTUS Kicks Important Class-Action Waiver Case to Next Term

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 …



Lawyers to Appeal Dismissal of Flint Water Crisis Lawsuit

Attorneys for plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit regarding Flint’s water crisis say they are going to appeal a federal judge’s dismissal of one of four cases. “This is really just a temporary setback,” said Michael Pitt, an attorney representing Flint community activist Melissa Mays and other Flint residents in the class action lawsuits. “We are going to take an appeal to the …


Sixth Circuit Declines to Call Off Class Action Settlement Over Wage Law Allegations

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has declined to dissolve a class action settlement regarding alleged violations of the Kentucky Wage and Hour Act. Plaintiffs William Whitlock, David Skyrm, James Middleton and Kristin Moore, who were former employees of Fourth Street Live, an entertainment area located in downtown Louisville, filed a suit in Kentucky …



Class Action Waivers: Will the Supreme Court Successfully Realign the Litigation Galaxy?

Finally. The wait is almost over. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether an employer may enforce a mandatory arbitration agreement that contains a class action or collective action waiver. Last Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear 3 cases stemming from the NLRB’s 2012 decision in D.R. Horton , in which the NLRB held that class action waivers violate employees’ Section 7 rights to engage in protected, concerted activity. D.R. Horton created uncertainty whether, for example, an employer, through an arbitration agreement, may force an employee to waive his or her right to pursue a class action minimum wage or overtime claim, or a Title VII discrimination claim, in an arbitration proceeding. …


Data Breach Harm Standard May Head to SCOTUS in ‘17

Companies facing data breaches grapple with lack of clear harm standard for consumer class actions   Breach harm standing has potential to reach U.S. Supreme Court in 2017 Dec. 5 — Hacking attacks, lax data security and rampant cybercrime create risks for corporations, including consumer lawsuits stemming from large-scale data breaches. Plaintiffs have lined up at courthouse doors for years, …


The Future of Standing in Data Breach Class Actions

In today’s world, as technology costs decrease and personal information becomes more valuable on the black market, data breaches have seemingly joined the ranks of death and taxes as certainties. Add to that litigation: companies suffering data breaches face exposure to lawsuits by consumers, employees, and even financial institutions. One particular concern for companies is the possibility of …