Mealey's Class Actions : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Class Actions

May 10, 2024
Federal Magistrate Judge Dismisses Suit Against CVS For Homeopathic Eye Drops

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A New York magistrate judge recommended that the court grant CVS Pharmacies Inc.’s motion to dismiss a proposed class action alleging violations of New York consumer protection laws in its sale of homeopathic eye drops after determining that a woman failed to state a plausible claim.
May 10, 2024
Wawa Data Breach Settlement Attorney Fees Award Again Appealed To 3rd Circuit

PHILADELPHIA — A class member in the consolidated class action over the 2019 data breach experienced by convenience store chain Wawa Inc. maintained his objection to a twice-approved attorney fees award that accompanied a $9 million class settlement, filing notice that he was again appealing the matter to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 10, 2024
9th Circuit Again Revives ERISA Pension Statements Case Against Administrator

SAN FRANCISCO — For a second time, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 9 partly revived a putative class action over pension benefit statements, reversing dismissal of what a panel called “cognizable claims” asserted under part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
May 10, 2024
Air Force, Space Force Members Appeal Dismissal Of Vaccine Mandate Class Case

CINCINNATI — Members of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons, filed a class complaint challenging the vaccine mandate and were granted a classwide preliminary injunction that was vacated as moot in December by the U.S. Supreme Court filed a notice of appeal after a federal judge in Ohio dismissed their case as moot.
May 10, 2024
Judge OKs Interlocutory Appeal On Representative Capacity Question In ERISA Row

PEORIA, Ill. — An Illinois federal judge has certified for interlocutory appeal an order in an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) valuation case he said “allowed the Plaintiff to proceed in a representative capacity under [an Employee Retirement Income Security Act provision], notwithstanding the Court’s denial of class certification.”
May 09, 2024
Judge Dismisses Consumer’s ‘Slack-Fill’ UCL Suit Against Supplement Maker

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted a motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit against a nutritional supplement maker for allegedly selling its products with a deceptively large container containing a relatively small amount of product after finding that the court lacked equitable jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ putative class claims.
May 09, 2024
Ad Customers Accuse Reddit Of ‘Click-Through Fraud’ In Class Complaint

SAN FRANCISCO — A tech company on May 8 filed a putative class action in California federal court against Reddit Inc., operator of a popular social media platform, accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and breach of contract by allegedly charging fraudulent fees per click on digital advertisements to it and other companies while allowing fraudulent clicks on its platform.
May 09, 2024
Kimberly-Clark Seeks Dismissal Of ‘Illogical’ Claims It Caused PFAS Contamination

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Kimberly-Clark Corp. has moved in Connecticut federal court to dismiss a putative class action on grounds that the plaintiffs’ allegations that the company is the source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in the local groundwater supply are “illogical and contradictory on their face.”
May 09, 2024
Judge Tosses Class Action Alleging Ovulation Kits Are Deceptively Labeled

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge dismissed without leave to amend a putative class action alleging that at-home ovulation test kits were deceptively labeled in violation of New York and California false advertising laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) after finding that the women who purchased the tests failed to show that a reasonable consumer of the products would be deceived.
May 09, 2024
Objector Appeals $125M PACER Class Settlement Approval To Federal Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An attorney who is a member of a class whose claims that excessive fees were paid to obtain court records via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system (PACER) were settled has appealed the final approval of the $125 million settlement to the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
May 08, 2024
Judge Mostly Denies Summary Judgment In ERISA Case Over Annuity Calculations

CHICAGO — Denying the bulk of a summary judgment motion in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act dispute over allegedly outdated mortality tables used to calculate joint and survivor annuity (JSA) benefits in two Citgo Petroleum Corp. pension plans, an Illinois federal judge said in part that he “cannot credit one expert's opinion over another” at this stage.
May 08, 2024
Judgment Entered Dismissing UCL Suit Against OnlyFans For Automatic Renewals

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on May 7 entered judgment dismissing a putative class action against two entities that own and operate the adult entertainment website OnlyFans after granting a motion to dismiss claims that the company violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to notify subscribers that they would be automatically charged monthly for subscriptions to various OnlyFans models.
May 08, 2024
Lockheed Martin Moves To Dismiss ERISA Suit Over Pension Risk Transfers

GREENBELT, Md. — Moving to dismiss one of a quartet of similar recent putative class actions challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Lockheed Martin Corp. told a Maryland federal court that the retirees are receiving all the benefits they are due and fail to state their claims.
May 07, 2024
Parties Reach Agreement In Principle To Settle Fracking Securities Litigation

HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas has issued an order directing the parties in a shareholder lawsuit against a hydraulic fracturing operator and three of its senior executives to file a settlement agreement and a motion for preliminary approval in light of the parties’ joint motion notifying the district court that they have reached an agreement in principle to settle the case. The parties did not provide details related to the agreement.
May 07, 2024
Redfin Seeks To Settle Commissions Conspiracy Claims For $9.25 Million

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Redfin Corp. and home sellers who have accused the broker and others of violating the Sherman Act by entering into an agreement to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions filed in a federal court in Missouri on May 6 a notice of pending settlement and joint motion to stay as to Redfin; on the same day, Redfin filed a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating that the settlement was for $9.25 million.
May 07, 2024
Parties In ERISA Imprudence Case Over Funds Report Unspecified Global Deal

SAN FRANCISCO — With a bench trial imminent, parties in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over the allegedly imprudent retention of certain funds told a California federal court on May 6 that they reached an unspecified agreement “in principle to a global resolution” of the class action and a recently filed related case.
May 07, 2024
Federal Judge Rules For Class On 2 Issues In ERISA Residual Annuities Case

NEW YORK — After “resolving the two disputed issues” in favor of the class after a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that drew an unsuccessful certiorari petition, a New York federal judge has entered a revised final judgment in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over residual annuities.
May 06, 2024
‘Waste Of Time’ Summary Judgment Ruling Trims ERISA Class Case Over Fees, Funds

BOSTON — Saying “this entire summary judgment exercise has been a monumental waste of time,” a Massachusetts federal judge partly granted the defendants’ motion in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action challenging management of retirement plans but denied summary judgment as to imprudence allegations regarding record-keeping fees and retention of challenged funds.
May 06, 2024
Mortgagors Appeal Finding That Broker Price Opinion Was Not An Inspection Fee

GREENBELT, Md. — A couple who filed a putative class complaint against their lenders over a broker price opinion (BPO) fee that appeared on their account after their mortgage was identified as being in active loss mitigation and a putative class member who attempted to intervene filed a notice of appeal on May 4 after a federal magistrate judge in Maryland granted the lenders summary judgment and ruled that the BPO fee at issue was not an inspection fee prohibited by Maryland’s usury statute.
May 03, 2024
On Remand, Judge Dismisses Putative Class Action Against Google For Banner Ads

SAN JOSE, Calif. — On remand from the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a federal judge in California dismissed with prejudice putative class claims brought against Google LLC by two website owners for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws in relation to Google’s former practice on its Android search app of superimposing its logo and a “Related Pages” banner on the plaintiffs’ websites, which featured links to competitors’ websites.
May 03, 2024
2nd Circuit Affirms Expert Exclusion, Summary Judgment In Food Labeling Case

NEW YORK — A district court properly excluded testimony from experts retained by a class of consumers who alleged that an “All Natural” claim on snack foods and granola bars is deceptive or misleading, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said May 2, and because they failed to show that the company’s label would deceive a reasonable consumer, the court affirmed summary judgment and found that arguments that the court erred in decertifying the class are moot.
May 03, 2024
Amended Complaint Planned In Fiduciary Breach Case Against Health Plans’ Sponsor

CAMDEN, N.J. — In a granted joint stipulation, parties in a high-profile putative class Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciary duty case over alleged “mismanagement of prescription-drug benefits” told a New Jersey federal court they agree that a pending dismissal motion will be mooted by a forthcoming amended complaint.
May 03, 2024
Production, Brief Ordered In Nonparty Discovery Disputes In Apple Antitrust Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — In response to recently filed briefs concerning discovery plaintiffs seek from two nonparties in their iPhone app monopolization class action against Apple Inc., a California federal magistrate judge issued an order partly granting their motion to compel certain records from app developer Rocket Money, while addressing the company’s concerns about discovery burdens and protecting the confidentiality of its records.
May 03, 2024
Faulty Shingles Dispute Terminated Following Parties’ Notice Of Settlement

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — After receiving notice of settlement from a group of property owners and roofing manufacturer, a Kansas federal judge ordered a dispute over the company’s allegedly faulty shingles to be administratively terminated.
May 02, 2024
Split 2nd Circuit Affirms Effective Vindication Ruling In ERISA Arbitration Row

NEW YORK — In a 2-1 ruling on a high-profile Employee Retirement Income Security Act issue, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 1 upheld denial of a motion for individual arbitration over an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) deal, with the majority applying the effective vindication exception as three other circuits did “in closely analogous cases” and asserting that “this is not actually a class action.”