Circuit

Subway ‘Footlong’ Settlement Gets Appeals Court Grilling

A federal appeals court on Thursday cast doubt on the legitimacy of a settlement resolving claims that Subway tricked customers by selling “Footlong” subs that were less than a foot long. A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago heard arguments on a challenge by prominent class-action critic Ted Frank, who said the settlement gave too much money to lawyers and no …


CVS Must Face Revived Lawsuit in U.S. Over Vitamin E Label

A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit accusing CVS Health Corp, one of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, of deceiving consumers with labels touting how CVS-branded vitamin E promotes “heart health.” The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the plaintiff, Ronda Kaufman, can pursue a proposed class action accusing CVS of violating a New York consumer …


Opinion: Got Arbitration Agreements With Class Waivers? The Fight May Not Be Over

Tuesday, September 6, 2016 Since the United States Supreme Court upheld the validity of class action waivers in commercial consumer arbitration agreements several years ago, many employers have found arbitration agreements with class action waivers a valuable tool to protect against the tide of class action litigation. In addition to avoiding the risk of a runaway jury award, these agreements …


Arbitration in Employment Sea Change?: Ninth Circuit Holds Mandatory Class Action Waivers Unlawful

Can employers still require employees to sign arbitration agreements with class action waivers as a condition of employment? Last week, the Ninth Circuit became the second appellate court to adopt the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) position that class action waivers violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) in Morris v. Ernst & Young LLP. In February 2012, the plaintiffs …


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 …


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 …


Disney Can’t Immediately Appeal “No Poaching” Class Certification Ruling

On Monday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an effort by Disney and DreamWorks to delay a class action lawsuit that alleges that animation studios colluded with each other to deny its workers better job opportunities and keep wages low. Robert Nitsch, a former visual effects worker who worked on Matrix Revolutions and Kung Fu Panda, and others are moving forward after striking a $13 …


U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down Ernst & Young Class Action Waiver

Ernst & Young LLP [ERNY.UL] cannot require its employees to give up their rights to pursue work-related claims together, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday, giving a major boost to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board’s campaign against so-called class action waivers. Companies have increasingly included provisions in employment contracts forcing workers to arbitrate …


Ninth Circuit Invalidates Class Waiver in Arbitration Agreement

In a ruling that widens the divide between federal appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit sided today with the Seventh Circuit and the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) in holding that the class action waiver provision of a company’s arbitration agreement with employees violates the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Prior to this decision, the Seventh Circuit was alone in its dissention …


BlackBerry Wins Appeal of Shareholder Lawsuit

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing BlackBerry Ltd of fraudulently inflating its stock price by painting an upbeat picture of the prospects for its BlackBerry Z10 smartphone line that was misleading. While the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the lawsuit failed to state a plausible claim, it ordered a lower-court judge to reconsider …