Once an outlier, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently joined seven other Circuit Courts in holding that receipt of a single, unwanted text message constitutes the concrete injury required for standing in class actions filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Read on for details about this development and implications for TCPA class actions moving forward. Read More ..read more

The issue of whether the “standing approach” or “class certification approach” is applicable continues to remain an open issue in the Fifth Circuit.  In Angell v. Geico Advantage Ins. Co., the Fifth Circuit declined to decide the issue because it ruled that Plaintiffs had satisfied both approaches.  The “class certification approach” merely asks whether the named Plaintiff(s) have standing—if so, the analysis shifts to Rule 23.  The “standing approach” delves deeper, analyzing harms of the named Plaintiff(s) to determine whether they are “sufficiently analogous” to all class mem ..read more

On March 13, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the district court’s order of class certification in Van v. LLR, Inc. under Rule 23(f). This case, Van v. LLR, Inc., 61 F.4th 1053, No. 21-36020, 2023 WL 2469909 (9th Cir. 2023), concerns a merchandise company that improperly charged sales tax based on the location of its retailers, rather than the location of the purchaser, as required by tax laws. One purchaser, Katie Van, filed a class action against Defendants LLR, Inc., and LuLaRoe, LLC (collectively “LuLaRoe”) on behalf of Alaskans who were charged sales tax on th ..read more

On Jan. 4, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made an important ruling in a Title IX class action seeking to compel creation of a girls-only high school football team. Read on for details about this case, which highlights the gravity of precisely applying the standard of commonality of interest and demonstrates that a mere showing of advantage based on gender may be insufficient to support an equal protection clause claim of gender discrimination ..read more

On November 30, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s finding that a settlement was not a coupon settlement when applying the three factors outlined in In re Online DVD-Rental Antitrust Litig., 779 F.3d 934, 950 (9th Cir. 2015). This case, McKnight v. Hinojosa, No. 21-16623, 2022 WL 17333820 (9th Cir. Nov. 30, 2022), concerned a class action for claims against Uber Technologies, Inc. and Rasier, LLC (collectively “Uber”).  The allegations against Uber revolved around a fee, called the ‘Safe Rides Fee,’ which was allegedly misrepresented by Uber ..read more

In a recent case addressing the novel issue of whether foreign law trumped United States law for purposes of class action tolling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit concluded that Colombian law on equitable tolling applied, even though the defendant was based in New Jersey. The case has its origins in the mid-2000s, when Chiquita pleaded guilty in federal court to engaging in transactions with a terrorist group in Colombia.  In 2007, following Chiquita’s guilty plea, family members (the putative class) of banana workers who had been targeted by the terrorist group filed a ..read more

In Kelly v. RealPage, Inc., the Third Circuit held that a small subclass of consumers could proceed on their class action against RealPage based on the company’s failure to provide them with required third-party information in credit reports.  In issuing the decision, the court is one of the first Circuit Courts to squarely address the scope of what constitutes an “informational injury” in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Transunion LLC  v. Ramirez, 141 S. Ct. 2190 (2021). The two lead plaintiffs in the case were denied apartment rental leases after RealPage, Inc ..read more

A recent lawsuit alleges that Skittles consumers “are at heightened risk of a host of health effects” because Skittles uses titanium dioxide (TiO2).  TiO2 is considered an inert and safe material, and for decades has been used in a range of consumer products including house paint, ceramics, paper, and printing inks.  In fact, you can find TiO2 in consumable products such as milk, coffee creamer, salad dressing, chocolate, chewing gum, sauces, toothpaste, and even vitamin supplements.  But this has not stopped lawsuits against products such as Skittles, Tylenol, and Tampons.  ..read more

On August 15, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a class-certification order on a Rule 23(f) appeal after sua sponte holding that the named plaintiff had no standing to sue.  The case is yet another example of how federal courts closely examine standing following the U.S. Supreme Court’s mandate in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, — U.S. —, 141 S. Ct. 2190 (2021): “Every class member must have Article III standing in order to recover individual damages.”  Id. at 2208. In Perez v. McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, P.C., et al., No. 21-50958, 2022 WL 33552 ..read more

During a span of less than two months, a group of Arkansas lawyers filed 22 class action suits in Lonoke County, Arkansas, alleging violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Here are five key items to know: Nine product manufacturers and 13 retailers have been sued — so far. The number of suits is growing. For manufacturers, the claims allege that the content of the product warranty violates the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act’s “anti-tying” provision. That provision prohibits conditioning warranty coverage on using a service or article identified by brand, trade or corporate name unless that ..read more