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Mealey's Class Actions

  • November 19, 2025

    Consolidated Class Suit Over College Data Breach Stayed Pending Settlement

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A federal judge in Tennessee on Nov. 18 stayed a consolidated class action to allow for the finalization of a settlement in the case filed against Lee University after its system containing personally identifiable information (PII) of students and prospective students was hacked.

  • November 19, 2025

    Preliminary Injunction Renewed In Prisoners’ Class Suit Over Gender-Affirming Care

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia renewed through March 2026 a preliminary injunction entered in June in a class case by prisoners who are suing President Donald J. Trump and other federal government officials, alleging that a Jan. 20 executive order (EO) that bans gender-affirming health care for those in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

  • November 19, 2025

    3rd Circuit Agrees Data Transmitted To Facebook By Quest Wasn’t Medical

    PHILADELPHIA — A trial court correctly dismissed a putative class complaint accusing Quest Diagnostics Inc. of violating two California laws by transmitting users’ browsing data to Facebook as “none of that data was substantive medical information,” a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled in a nonprecedential opinion.

  • November 18, 2025

    Stay Denied Due To No Irreparable Injury Showing In Centralized Database Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia in a Nov. 17 opinion noted doubt about “the lawfulness of” the federal government’s centralized database of Americans’ personal data but denied a motion for a stay filed by several nonprofits and individuals based on the failure to demonstrate irreparable injury as the database changes have already been made.

  • November 18, 2025

    9th Circuit Vacates Ruling That TPA Discriminated By Enforcing Exclusions

    PASADENA, Calif. — Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s split June 18 ruling in United States v. Skrmetti, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 17 vacated and remanded for reconsideration a class action ruling that the third-party administrator (TPA) of a self-funded health plan violated the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s antidiscrimination provision by administering exclusions of gender-affirming care.

  • November 18, 2025

    N.C. Judge Approves $2.45M Website Tracking Software Settlement With Health System

    RALEIGH, N.C.  — A North Carolina state court judge on Nov. 17 approved a class action settlement between patients and former patients of a hospital system and the hospital system in a suit asserting that software on the hospital’s website captured their information and sent it to Facebook without their consent, finding that the $2.45 million settlement “is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interest of the settlement class.”

  • November 18, 2025

    Split D.C. Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing In Immigrant Removal Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A divided District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a per curiam order denying rehearing en banc sought by immigrants after a panel in August dismissed an appeal by the federal government for lack of appellate jurisdiction and vacated a trial court’s ruling that probable cause exists to determine that the federal government’s actions in an immigrant removal class case constitute criminal contempt, opining that the government “satisfied the stringent requirements for a writ of mandamus.”

  • November 18, 2025

    Texas Dental Practice Will Pay $1M To End Patients’ Data Breach Class Suit

    AMARILLO, Texas — A Texas-based dental and orthodontic care practice accused of failing to protect the personally identifiable information (PII) and private health information (PHI) of more than 3,800 patients will pay $1 million to settle two patients’ class action complaint, according to a final settlement approval signed by a judge in Texas.

  • November 17, 2025

    Deponent Ordered To Pay More Than $60,000 For Fees, Costs In Health Plan Case

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal magistrate judge who previously determined that a deponent’s “obstructive and combative behavior and dilatory tactics” warranted three extra hours of deposition and monetary sanctions awarded more than half of the $105,875.20 requested for related attorney fees in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action that challenges the expenses and allocations by trustees of a nationwide multiemployer health plan.

  • November 17, 2025

    Justice’s Earlier Stay Vacated, Stay Of Class-Challenged Marcos Funds Ruling Denied

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Nov. 14 vacated her Nov. 5 stay of a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that cleared the way for the Republic of the Philippines to receive the millions of dollars in a U.S. bank account opened by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos and denied the application for stay filed by a class of individuals who were subject to Marcos’ human rights abuses.

  • November 17, 2025

    Supreme Court To Consider Ruling In Immigrant Class Case Over Metering Policy

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 17 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by federal government officials after a divided Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals partially upheld a permanent injunction in a class case over a now-rescinded border metering policy.

  • November 14, 2025

    Plaintiffs Get Discovery Extension, Extra Depositions In TIAA Cross-Selling Case

    NEW YORK — Over opposition from nonparties and defendants in a putative class Employee Retirement Income Security Act case potentially involving participants in thousands of retirement plans, a New York federal judge on Nov. 13 extended the fact discovery deadline and authorized the plaintiffs to take 10 additional depositions of nonparty plan sponsors.

  • November 14, 2025

    4th Circuit Stands By Reversal Of Class Certification In Suit Against Auto Insurer

    RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied an insured’s petition for rehearing en banc of a split panel’s ruling that a lower federal court abused its discretion in certifying a class in a lawsuit alleging that an insurer improperly decreased the compensation for totaled vehicles, standing by the panel’s holding that common questions do not predominate because the claims are “essentially individualized claims requiring mini trials as to each.”

  • November 14, 2025

    ‘Opt-Outs’ From $95 Million Siri Eavesdropping Settlement Appeal To 9th Circuit

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Nearly 13,000 purported class members and objectors who allegedly opted out of a $95 million settlement of a 6-year-old class action accusing Apple Inc. of collecting unauthorized recordings of Apple device users via its Siri digital assistant filed notice in California federal court that they will appeal the court’s final approval of the settlement to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • November 14, 2025

    11th Circuit Affirms Order Declining To Compel Arbitration In Telemarketing Suit

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s order denying a motion to compel arbitration by a company that sells automotive care products in a putative class suit accusing it of violating the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and similar Florida law by sending out unsolicited telemarketing messages, finding that the company failed to show the existence of a valid arbitration agreement.

  • November 13, 2025

    Wells Fargo Agrees To Pay $84M To Resolve Class Suit Over ESOP Dividends

    MINNEAPOLIS — Wells Fargo & Co. would pay $84 million to resolve a class action against it and two other defendants under a proposed settlement the plaintiffs on Nov. 12 asked a Minnesota federal court to grant preliminary approval; the Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenges how Wells Fargo used dividends of its preferred stock held in its 401(k)’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fund.

  • November 13, 2025

    Workers File WARN Act Class Suits Against Sonder In New York, Delaware

    Employees of Sonder USA Inc. in San Francisco and New York filed two class complaints, one in a federal court in New York and one in a federal court in Delaware, accusing the company that manages short-term rentals of violating the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and state WARN acts when it abruptly ceased operations and terminated employees with one day’s notice.

  • November 12, 2025

    Stay Denied In Class Suit Over Insurer’s ‘Discriminatory Advertising’ On Facebook

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge denied an insurer’s motion for a stay in a putative class action accusing the insurer of “discriminatory advertising” on Facebook, finding that the insurer failed to show how a ruling in a parallel state court case would have a “preclusive effect” on the instant case.

  • November 12, 2025

    8th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Nike Sustainability Labeling Class Suit

    ST. LOUIS — A putative class complaint by a Missouri woman who sued a clothing maker for allegedly misleading consumers with its labeling and advertisement of a “sustainable” clothing line was properly dismissed with prejudice as the plaintiff had seven months to seek leave to file a second amended complaint after the defendant “point[ed] out glaring pleading deficiencies” and the plaintiff failed “‘to allege facts sufficient to state a claim against [Nike],’” the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, quoting Springdale Educ. Ass’n v. Springdale Sch. Dist.

  • November 12, 2025

    Judge Denies Preliminary Settlement Approval In Unsolicited Texts Class Suit

    TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge in Washington denied preliminary approval of a $700,000 settlement in a putative class action alleging that real estate companies sent unsolicited commercial text messages in violation of state and federal law, finding issues with the class definition and notice, deadlines, claimant awards, proposed changes to the defendants’ practices, releases and claim forms.

  • November 12, 2025

    Damages Expert Excluded In Dispute Over In-Game Purchases In Mobile Application

    SEATTLE — An expert retained by a pair of consumers who seek to represent a class of others who were allegedly deceived into making in-game purchases while playing online gambling games cannot opine on models used to calculate damages, a Washington federal judge ruled, finding that the expert has not demonstrated how he is qualified under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.

  • November 12, 2025

    University Of Pennsylvania Alumna Files Class Suit Following Data Breach

    PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) failed to protect its network containing personally identifiable information (PII) of students, alumni, faculty and donors, resulting in cybercriminals obtaining access to the university’s systems and sending “‘a series of mass emails’” to more than 700,000 people that were critical of the university’s security practices and institutional culture, a UPenn alumna alleges in a putative class complaint filed against the school’s trustees in a federal court in Pennsylvania.

  • November 12, 2025

    Reconsideration Of Judge’s Refusal To Dismiss False Pricing Suit Denied

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion by a children’s clothing company for reconsideration of a prior order refusing to dismiss a putative class action against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by advertising false “discount” prices, rebuffing the company’s arguments that the court improperly allowed a claim for equitable restitution.

  • November 11, 2025

    Judge Defers Ruling On Motion To Compel Class Members Who Sued Lender To Arbitrate

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Nov. 10 ordered a motion to compel arbitration held in abeyance, finding that genuine disputes remain as to the argument by consumer loan app operators that binding arbitration agreements exist as to more than 235,000 of 250,000 certified class members who sued the app operators for concealing fees while operating as an unlicensed lender in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and California finance laws.

  • November 11, 2025

    Class Suit Says UPS, GE And Boeing’s Recklessness Caused November Plane Crash

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Recklessness by United Parcel Service Inc., General Electric Co. and Boeing Co. caused the Nov. 4 crash of a UPS MD-11 cargo aircraft as it attempted to depart a Louisville airport for Hawaii, airport neighbors allege in a putative class complaint filed in a federal court in Kentucky.