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

Mealey's Class Actions

September 16, 2025
6th Circuit Upholds No Standing Ruling In Contaminated Peanut Butter Class Case

CINCINNATI — Consumers who brought putative class claims after peanut butter products were voluntarily recalled following an investigation into a Salmonella outbreak failed to show injury in fact and failed to raise an alternate claim of “adulterated” products before the trial court, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, affirming a trial court’s dismissal in an unpublished opinion.
September 16, 2025
Pension Funds Fail To Plead Falsity Regarding Airplane Part Defects

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal judge in Connecticut dismissed pension funds’ securities fraud class action against an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation and certain of its officers and directors, finding the pension funds did not adequately plead falsity or scienter regarding statements made about a powdered metal defect in airplane engine parts the company manufactured.
September 16, 2025
Judge Partly Grants Certification In Suit Over Origin Of ‘Japanese’ Alcohol

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge on Sept. 15 granted a consumer’s motion to certify a class seeking injunctive relief against a U.S. company accused of marketing Japanese sake in a manner that would deceive consumers into believing that it is imported from Japan when it is actually manufactured in California in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) but refused to certify a class seeking damages.
September 16, 2025
‘Problematic’ Talc Securities-Class Ruling Requires Rehearing, J&J Warns

PHILADELPHIA — A panel opinion allowing courts to put aside the rigorous analysis traditionally required for class certification and creating a new standard for price impact disclosures in securities actions will have a “problematic” influence in district court cases involving billions of dollars, Johnson & Johnson entities defending claims that they hid the presence of asbestos in talc from shareholders tell the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
September 16, 2025
Judge Certifies New York Class, Denies California Class In Elderberry Extract Suit

SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge granted a motion to certify a New York state class accusing the maker of a dietary supplement that contains elderberry extract of deceiving consumers with misleading label statements, denied the motion as to a California class bringing claims for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) because the claims are barred due to a previous California suit, and denied a defense motion to exclude the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses.
September 16, 2025
2 Of 3 Plaintiffs In 28-Year Teacher Class Suit Granted Incentive Awards

NEW YORK — Two of three named plaintiffs in a more than 28-year-long race bias class suit over teacher licensing requirements in New York City were each awarded incentive awards of $272,996 by a federal judge in New York, who reserved judgment on the $2.9 million incentive award requested by the final named plaintiff as briefing is not yet complete.
September 16, 2025
Suit Against Relocation Firm Over Data Breach Mostly Survives Dismissal Motion

LOS ANGELES — Although a California federal judge dismissed as insufficiently pleaded a California woman’s bailment claim against a relocation service provider related to a 2024 data breach, the plaintiff’s contract, privacy and negligence putative class claims were deemed adequately alleged to withstand the defendant's dismissal motion.
September 16, 2025
$95 Million Settlement Of Siri Eavesdropping Class Action Gets Final Approval

OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge gave a final OK to a $95 million settlement of a six-year-old class action accusing Apple Inc. of collecting unauthorized recordings of Apple device users via its Siri digital assistant, deeming the settlement “fair, adequate, and reasonable.”
September 16, 2025
Life Insurance Beneficiary Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Ruling On Certifying Questions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A life insurance policy beneficiary who brought a putative class lawsuit after her husband died and she was denied benefits filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court justices to decide two questions regarding certifying state law issues to state high courts.
September 15, 2025
Split 9th Circuit: Totaled Vehicles’ Actual Value Dooms Class Certification

PHOENIX — Individual questions surrounding the calculation of the actual cash value (ACV) of insureds’ totaled vehicles predominate, preventing certification of a class of Progressive customers, a divided Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Sept. 12, affirming a trial court denial of class certification.
September 15, 2025
Magistrate Approves $1.5 Million Settlement Of Garda Data Breach Suit

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than five months after he preliminarily approved a $1.5 million settlement between a security company and a group of employees that sued it over the theft of their personally identifiable information (PII) in a 2023 data breach, a Florida federal magistrate judge granted final approval, deeming the deal in compliance with federal rules and, as such, “fair, adequate and reasonable.”
September 12, 2025
In State Class Action, Man Says Bitcoin Depot Fails To Flag Impersonation Scams

TAMPA — A Florida man has filed a complaint seeking certification of a class of state residents who lost money deposited at Bitcoin Depot ATM kiosks as part of an elaborate stolen identity scam.
September 10, 2025
Putative Class Plaintiffs Say PFAS Case Against Band-Aid Makers Is Well-Founded

TRENTON, N.J. — Plaintiffs who filed a putative class action against Johnson & Johnson and affiliates alleging that they have been injured by the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Band-Aids have filed a brief in New Jersey federal court arguing that the defendants’ motion to dismiss “fails on every front, applying incorrect legal standards and ignoring well-pleaded factual allegations.”
September 09, 2025
Judge Rules Email Subscription Does Not Confer Consumer Status Under VPPA

NEW YORK — A Missouri woman’s Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) claim against NBCUniversal Media LLC was dismissed for a third time by a New York federal judge who found that although the plaintiff sufficiently pleaded that NBC knowingly collected her personally identifiable information (PII) connected with her viewing of videos on the website of the Today Show, the plaintiff did not establish that she qualified as a consumer under the statute.
September 09, 2025
Split U.S. High Court Grants Stay In Putative Class Suit Over Los Angeles Patrols

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 8 granted the federal government’s application to stay pending appeal a trial court’s July halt of “Operation At Large” being carried out in Los Angeles by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel who detain individuals in publicly accessible places to question their legal status based on the location, type of work being done, language being spoken, accent and race or ethnicity.
September 09, 2025
Challenge To Tobacco, Vaccination Surcharges Partly Survives Dismissal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Continuing a string of at least partial victories for plaintiffs in putative class cases over health plan tobacco surcharges, a North Carolina federal judge ruled that two of three claims against GardaWorld Cash Service Inc. survive dismissal; one of the surviving claims concerns the tobacco surcharge, and the other concerns a surcharge levied against those who didn’t show that they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by a certain date.
September 08, 2025
Judge Sends Putative Class Suit Over ‘Sustainable’ Cocoa Labeling To Illinois

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on Sept. 5 transferred a putative class action lawsuit against a chocolate company for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by allegedly misrepresenting its cocoa as “Sustainably Sourced” to Illinois federal court where another putative class complaint over the same alleged misrepresentation was previously filed.
September 05, 2025
Jury Awards Google Users More Than $425M For Online Data Gathering

SAN FRANCISCO — After an 11-day trial in a five-year-old privacy class action, a California federal jury awarded two classes of mobile device users more than $425 million for invasion of privacy and intrusion upon seclusion by Google LLC for the company’s practice of tracking mobile device users’ online activity despite selecting a setting to opt out of such data collection.
September 05, 2025
Class Settlement Wins Final Approval In ERISA Case Over Alleged Cost-Shifting

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge granted final approval to a class settlement that resolves a long-running Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over an alleged cost-shifting scheme concerning health plan administrative fees for chiropractic and physical therapy treatment; the deal includes gross amounts of $4.8 million for members of individual and plan classes and a separate $3.55 million for attorney fees and costs.
September 04, 2025
U.K. Plaintiffs Amend Class Deception Claims Against Coupon Finder

SAN FRANCISCO — Citizens of the United Kingdom filed an amended putative class action against a company that operates a discount-finding browser extension and its parent company for alleged violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) on behalf of all U.K. users of the browser extension who were not provided the best discounts available for certain products they purchased online, after a judge dismissed a prior complaint for lack of a connection to California.
September 03, 2025
Briefly: Class Seeks Approval Of $15M Deal In Securities Fraud Case About Pipeline

PHILADELPHIA — The lead plaintiffs in a long and winding securities fraud class action related to the construction of a hydraulic fracturing pipeline on Sept. 2 filed a brief in Pennsylvania federal court seeking final approval of a class action settlement for a cash payment of $15 million.
September 03, 2025
Split 5th Circuit Blocks Putative Class Removal Under Alien Enemies Act

NEW ORLEANS — The federal government may not remove from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) three named individuals and the putative class they seek to represent who are all alleged by the government to be Venezuelan nationals who are members of Tren de Aragua, a divided Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Sept. 2 in a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary injunction and remanded for a preliminary injunction ruling as well as a ruling regarding whether the government’s notice to these individuals of their removal satisfied due process; however, the Fifth Circuit majority noted in the present ruling that the named individuals and putative class may be removed “under other lawful authorities” and the preliminary injunction as to the class will expire if class certification is denied unless an appeal is sought and accepted.
September 03, 2025
Dismissal Recommended In Putative Class Suit Challenging PRTs With Athene

BOSTON — The tally on dismissal motions in a wave of putative class actions retirees have filed over pension risk transfers (PRTs) would stand at two granted, one denied if the recommendation of a Massachusetts federal magistrate judge were taken; among other things, the retirees allege that the use of offshore captive reinsurers makes annuity providers riskier.
September 03, 2025
Citing Anderson, 9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Challenge To Custom TDFs

SAN FRANCISCO — Quoting Anderson v. Intel Corp. Investment Pol'y Committee, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an unpublished Sept. 2 memorandum disposition briefly affirmed dismissal of putative class claims concerning custom target-date funds (TDFs), saying that under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, pleading “‘that a prudent fiduciary in like circumstances would have selected a different fund based on the cost or performance of the selected fund’” requires providing “‘a sound basis for comparison.’”
September 03, 2025
Judge Won’t Compel Claim Forms, Documents In Wawa Data Breach Settlement

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge found no merit to objections raised by Wawa Inc. related to class members’ claims rate in responding to a preliminarily approved settlement agreement over a 2019 data breach, leading her to deny the convenience store chain’s motion to compel production of claim forms or communications between the settlement administrator and counsel for plaintiff financial institutions (FIs).