A federal judge in Baton Rouge this week expressed sympathy for the funding plight of New Orleans’ public defenders, but dismissed a lawsuit brought against the office by the American Civil Liberties Union that hoped to force the state to rectify budget inadequacies for indigent defense under court order. U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana ruled Tuesday (Jan. …
In this Thursday, April 21, 2016, file photo, Joyce Ertel Hulbert, owner of a 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI, holds a sign while interviewed outside the of the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco. A federal judge in San Francisco is facing a deadline on whether to approve a nearly 5 billion deal over Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal that gives most affected car owners the option …
Demand letters under consumer protection statutes should not be ignored and may, in limited instances, offer a way to head off significant litigation. For instance, in Demmler v. ACH Food Companies, Inc., Case No. 15-13556 (D. Mass. …
The largest antitrust class action settlement in history was recently put to a halt by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The $7.25 billion proposed settlement includes a group of merchants challenging the fees and regulations of Visa and Mastercard. The plaintiffs claim the defendants have fixed the fees that merchants were charged every time a …
Last March, the United States Supreme Court held that a putative class action is not mooted when a defendant offers the named plaintiff complete relief but the plaintiff does not accept the offer. Campbell-Ewald Company v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663 (2016). That decision left open the question of whether a settlement offer—coupled with an actual tender of complete relief—would …