Co-authored by Lorie Almon and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.

A recent New York Times article is creating a buzz in the class action world – the article discusses the phenomenon of how private third parties (such as banks, financers, and lenders) are “investing” in plaintiffs’ class action firms relative to the prosecution of class actions. The “smells like raw tuna”

Continue Reading Private Third-Party Financing Of Class Actions

The biggest news on the class action front is that the Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion. That case presents the issue of whether class action waivers in consumer contracts are enforceable even when state contract law bars such waivers. The company is challenging a Ninth Circuit ruling in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion.

Continue Reading Oral Argument In AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion

In the latest installment of a long running saga involving the stainless steel drums in Sears Kenmore clothes dryers,  the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit utilized the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. 1651(a) (link) to halt class action litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the North District of California, as well as future class actions involving the same parties, attorneys, and subject matter. The lucid 29-page opinion by Judge Posner – in Thorogood v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., Case No. 10-2407, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 22807, __ F.3d__(7th Cir. Nov. 2, 2010).  “Thorogood III” – highlights how class counsel’s use of far-reaching, burdensome discovery for settlement leverage justifies enjoining a second attempted class action. 

The latest decision was the third appeal to the Seventh Circuit. It contains important lessons for employment class actions, especially in the wage & hour context where plaintiffs’ counsel often file multiple class actions in different venues.Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Enjoins Copycat Class Action

ping_pong.jpgWhat happens when a wage and hour class action, removed to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act of  2005 (“CAFA”), 28 U.S.C. §§1332(d) and 1453 fails certification as a class action? What if after remand, the same plaintiffs revive the class claims in state court?  A growing number of  federal courts have concluded that if class certification is

Continue Reading Avoiding Endless Jurisdictional Ping Pong