By Gerald L. Maatman and Jennifer A. Riley
Seyfarth Synopsis: As businesses chart their paths through the difficulties of reopening their operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, another risk looms – the danger of being the target of a class action lawsuit. That trend is in its formative stage already, and members of
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Alex S. Oxyer, and Paul M. Waldera
Seyfarth Synopsis: In McKenzie Law Firm, P.A., et al. v. Ruby Receptionists, Inc., 18-CV-1921, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94299 (D. Or. May 29, 2020), the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon lessened the standard for plaintiffs to obtain an
Seyfarth Synopsis: In its recent review of Seyfarth’s 2020 Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report, EPLiC called it the “must have” resource that corporate counsel “cannot afford to be without it…”
We are humbled and honored by the recent review of our 2020 Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report by Employment Practices Liability Consultant Magazine
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Jennifer A. Riley
Seyfarth Synopsis: As employers begin laying the groundwork for reopening and returning their businesses to “normal,” a large threat of a different form looms on the horizon. The Plaintiffs’ bar is poised for – and has been discussing preparation of – class actions over denied
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Alex S. Oxyer, and Paul M. Waldera
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin recently cast doubt on employers’ ability to strike the class allegations in a complaint early in litigation. In Gilbert, et al. v. Lands’ End, Inc., No. 19-CV-1066, 2020 WL
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a class action lawsuit alleging multiple fraud claims, a federal court in Illinois granted the plaintiff’s motion to sanction the defendants for interfering with the class notice process by encouraging class members to opt-out, and sanctioned their attorney for communicating directly with
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex S. Oxyer
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Johnson v. Airbus Defense & Space Inc., No. 5:17-CV-2150, 2020 WL 1675776 (N.D. Ala. Apr. 6, 2020), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama recently granted an employer’s motion for summary judgment on claims brought by plaintiffs alleging they were
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Michael L. DeMarino
Seyfarth Synopsis: The battle continues over the applicability of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court, 137 S.Ct. 1773 (2017), to Rule 23 class actions. Last month, in Mussat v. IQVIA, Inc., 953 F.3d 441, 448 (7th Cir. 2020), the Seventh
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Christina M. Janice
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the latest development in the ultra-high stakes nationwide Prescription Opiate Litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted the petition for writ of mandamus brought by twelve pharmacy defendants to overturn a November 2019 order by the U.S. District
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Alex S. Oxyer, and Paul M. Waldera
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a first-of-its-kind ruling in Sandvig v. Barr, No. 16-1368, 2020 WL 1494065 (D.D.C. Mar. 27, 2020), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that private citizens investigating whether employment hiring websites discriminate based on race