MVA Litigation Blog
Class Action
SCOTUS Squashes Class Action Plaintiff Attempt to Obtain Review of Class Certification
The reality of class action litigation is that what is supposed to be the court’s preliminary decision of whether to certify a case as a class action is often the end of the litigation. In many cases, plaintiffs will not proceed if the court denies class certification for reasons including that their individual claims are … Continue reading
NC Disclosure-Only Class Action Settlements & Attorneys’ Fees May Face Increased Scrutiny
NC DISCLOSURE-ONLY CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENTS & ATTORNEYS’ FEES MAY FACE INCREASED SCRUTINY (Feb. 2, 2017): Rolling into the new year, North Carolina attorneys are on notice that the ability to gain approval of class action settlements and related attorneys’ fees may become more difficult in some cases. Read More
NC Bar on Notice: Business Court May Increase Scrutiny for Approval of Disclosure-Only Class Action Settlements & Attorneys’ Fees
Rolling into the new year, North Carolina attorneys are on notice that the ability to gain approval of class action settlements and related attorneys’ fees may become more difficult in some cases. In recent years, we have seen more class actions challenging corporate merger transactions and settlements in which the only remedy obtained by the … Continue reading
Unanimous U.S. Supreme Court Gives FLSA Class Action Win to Employers Screening for Theft
Employers continue to face an increasing number of lawsuits (including class and collective actions) claiming they violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) based on a wide variety of policies and conduct. Recent federal statistics for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2014 show 8,126 FLSA cases had been filed by employees in 2014, … Continue reading
Two Principles “Readily Derived” from Wal-Mart v. Dukes that Drive Class Certification in Employment Discrimination Actions: The Fourth Circuit View in Scott v. Family Dollar
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals identified two principles driving the potential certification of a class in employment discrimination cases in Scott, et. al. v. Family Dollar Stores, Inc., No. 12-1610 (4th Cir. Oct., 16, 2013) that it believes are “readily derived” from Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), but were … Continue reading
If It Walks Like a Class or Mass Action…Is it Removable Under CAFA? (Part 2)
We continue our exploration of removability under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”) and the threshold question that has driven a split between the Circuit Courts of Appeals described as “intolerable as a matter of federalism,” carrying CAFA back to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. Before determining whether any requirement … Continue reading
If It Walks Like a Class or Mass Action…Is It Removable Under CAFA? (Part 1)
Last term, the U.S. Supreme Court broke ground on interpreting the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”) by setting limits on plaintiffs seeking to maneuver around federal jurisdiction. Having resolved in Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles, 133 S. Ct. 1345, 568 US __ (2013) the quandary presented by plaintiffs attempting to stipulate … Continue reading
The U.S. Supreme Court Ended the Term with an Exclamation Mark at the End of Its Statement on Class Actions and Arbitration: The Amex and Oxford Health Decisions
The Supreme Court’s October 2012 Term could rightly be named “The Year of the Class Action.” The High Court received many petitions for review and ultimately issued more than five decisions that tackled issues impacting the landscape of class action practice from questions regarding federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 … Continue reading
What Was the Question? The U.S. Supreme Court’s Answer in Comcast v. Behrend Leaves Us Wondering about the Standard for Analyzing Expert Evidence for Class Certification
The U.S. Supreme Court’s review of Comcast v. Behrend, 655 F.3d 182 (3rd Cir. 2011) showed promise to resolve uncertainties raised by the lower courts regarding the applicability of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S. Ct. 2786 (1993) at the class certification stage and the depth of analysis courts … Continue reading
The U.S. Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Corporations Facing Fraud-on-the-Market Securities Class Actions
While several of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions have raised the bar for plaintiffs seeking to bring class actions, the divided Court’s February 27th decision in Amgen, Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, 568 U.S. ___ (2013) dealt a blow to corporate defendants in the securities fraud class action arena. The … Continue reading
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