http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline Class Actions Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2013 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN DIEGO - A California federal judge on May 3 granted preliminary approval of a $4 million settlement in a class lawsuit accusing Kellogg Co. of making false advertising claims about its Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal but questioned why the value to the class was reduced by almost 75 percent (Harry Dennis, et al. v. Kellogg Co., No. 09-1786, S.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64577; See 7/20/12, Page 22). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Kentucky federal judge on May 13 granted final approval of a $45 million settlement to be paid by Skechers U.S.A. Inc. to end multidistrict litigation alleging that the company's "toning" footwear was falsely advertised to improve posture, promote weight loss, strengthen the back, improve blood circulation, promote sleep, reduce stress and burn calories (In Re: Skechers Toning Shoe Products Liability Litigation, No. 11-2308, W.D. Ky.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67441). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SANTA ANA, Calif. - The Wet Seal Inc. agreed in a May 8 settlement agreement to pay $7.5 million to end a class complaint alleging that it intentionally discriminates against black managers with respect to pay, promotion, job assignments, discipline, termination and other conditions of employment (Nicole Cogdell, et al. v. The Wet Seal, Inc., et al., No. 12-1138, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DETROIT - A Michigan federal judge on May 14 partially certified a class of individuals and businesses subjected to search and/or seizure of their property by the Michigan Department of Treasury to satisfy an alleged tax debt who allege that their constitutional rights were violated because the searches and seizures occurred without a judicially authorized warrant (Adhid Miri, et al. v. Andy Dillon, et al., No. 11015248, E.D. Mich.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68211). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal judge on May 8 denied both a partial summary judgment motion and a class certification motion filed on behalf of interns at 19 magazines owned by The Hearst Corp. who seek unpaid compensation, abandoning a July 12 grant of conditional certification (Xuedan Wang, et al. v. The Hearst Corporation, No. 12-793, S.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65869). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW HAVEN, Conn. - A Connecticut federal judge on May 13 certified a class of Connecticut residents who applied for food stamps and whose applications were not timely processed as required under federal law (James Briggs, et al. v. Roderick Bremby, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the State of Connecticut Department of Social Services, No. 12-324, D. Conn.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67571). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A federal district court did not err in granting class certification in a securities class action lawsuit because price impact evidence does not bear on the inquiry into whether common issues predominate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled April 30 (Erica John Fund, et al. v. Halliburton Co., et al., No. 12-1398, 5th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal magistrate judge on May 6 certified a class of food-processing plant employees suing for unpaid wages, overtime and spread of hours compensation under New York state law; the same judge conditionally certified a collective action for the plaintiffs' federal law claim in December 2009 (Kingborn Morris, et al. v. Alle Processing Corp., et al., No. 08-4874, E.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64534). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' HARRISON, Ark. - An Arkansas federal judge on May 13 granted conditional collective certification in a case filed by hourly employees of a vehicle customization company accused of owing its workers unpaid minimum and overtime wages (Donna Croft, et al. v. Protomotive, Inc., et al., No. 12-3102, W.D. Ark.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67699). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHOENIX - An Arizona federal judge on May 3 conditionally certified as a collective action a lawsuit filed by real estate agents alleging that they were denied minimum wage and overtime (Patricia Anderson, et al. v. Ziprealty, Inc., No. 12-332, D. Ariz.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63817). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2011%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - Claims of no trans fat, even though traces of trans fat exist, and cholesterol-reducing properties on the packaging of butter/margarine substitutes manufactured by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) don't violate any law, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled May 9 (Thomas Young, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson, No. 12-2475, 3rd Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 9422). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2012%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - Tenured Chicago teachers were not denied their constitutionally protected property interest in continued employment when they were dismissed without individualized determinations of their qualifications, certifications, experience and performance ratings, an Illinois federal judge ruled May 8 (Williette Price, et al. v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago, et al., No. 11-4463, Cheryl Smith v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago, No. 11-4974, Barbara Ferkel, et al. v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago, et al., No. 11-9322, N.D. Ill.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65417). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2013%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - A California appeals court panel held in a May 9 unpublished opinion that a hospital has no duty to inform patients admitted to the emergency room that emergency room physicians do not accept a particular health care plan and to take action to prevent emergency room physicians from "balance billing" (Maria Leon, et al. v. Watsonville Hospital Corp., No. H037288, Calif. App., 6th Dist.; 2013 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3297). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2014%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A California federal judge on May 3 partially granted and partially denied motions to stay and dismiss a class complaint seeking unpaid compensation filed by a former personal trainer, in part based on two similar complaints filed in California and New York against the same employer (Osabemi-Ye Adedapoidle-Tyehimba, et al. v. Crunch LLC, et al., No. 13-225, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63787). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2015%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A debt collector failed to prove its motion to dismiss a Florida woman's class complaint that alleged repeated automated calls to her cellular phone violated federal law, a Florida federal judge ruled May 8 (Devon Meyer v. Receivables Performance Management, LLC, No. 12-2013, W.D. Wash.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65918). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2016%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A Florida federal judge on May 7 dismissed a putative class action case against a health insurer and a third-party administrator accused of inflating medical loss ratios to avoid paying rebates for excessive premiums to subscribers as mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) for lack of standing and ordered arbitration for claims against a second third-party administrator (MRI Scan Center v. National Imaging Associates Inc., et al., No. 13-60051, S.D. Fla.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66741). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2017%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Deceptive advertising, computer fraud and related claims brought against Time Warner Cable in a putative class action "lack facial plausibility sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss," a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled May 6, citing the plaintiffs' failure to supply a copy of the allegedly false advertising (Jessica Fink, et al. v. Time Warner Cable, et al., No. 12-299, 2nd Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 9146). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2018%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CAMDEN, N.J. - Named plaintiffs in a putative class action consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey Paulsboro Derailment Litigation were denied remand April 23 because the defendants showed to a legal certainty that the amount in controversy exceeds the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) threshold, according to the presiding judge (In re: Paulsboro Derailment Cases $(John Stephenson, No. 13-721$), No. 13-784, D. N.J.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57865). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2019%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SCRANTON, Pa. - A Pennsylvania federal judge on May 14 gave the plaintiffs in a lawsuit accusing a tax preparation company of committing errors that delayed more than 600,000 returns a second chance to demonstrate that diversity jurisdiction exists (Cameron Cox, et al. v. H&R Block, Inc., et al., No. 13-1101, M.D. Pa.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68177). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2020%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A direct purchaser class on May 10 opposed Chinese vitamin C manufacturers' renewed motions for judgment and motion to reduce by $22.5 million a $253.3 million damages award in favor of the class on its allegations that Chinese corporations participated in an illegal cartel to fix prices and limit supply for exports of vitamin C to the United States (In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation $(Animal Science Products, Inc., et al. v. Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., et al.$), No. 06-md-1738, No. 05-cv-0453, E.D. N.Y.; See 5/3/13, Page 25). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2021%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A Louisiana appeals court on April 9 affirmed a trial court's decision awarding damages to a class of employees who allege that they developed health issues caused by exposure to mold at work, finding that the State of Louisiana failed to show that the trial court erred in allowing certain expert testimony or in determining that specific causation was met (Sherry Watters, et al. v. Department of Social Services, et al., No. 2012-CA-0751, La. App., 4th Cir.; 2013 La. App. LEXIS 753; See 2/15/13, Page 28). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2022%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A Florida woman filed a class complaint on May 10 in California federal court accusing Apple Inc. of manufacturing and marketing Apple iPhone 4 mobile telephones with faulty power buttons that fail shortly after the devices' one-year warranty expires (Debra Hilton, et al. v. Apple Inc., No. 13-2167, N.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2023%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PORTLAND, Ore. - Several unnamed children who have been diagnosed as autistic and their parents filed a class complaint on May 8 in Oregon federal court accusing Providence Health Plan of violating federal and state law by denying coverage for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for treatment of autism-related spectrum disorder (A.F., by and through his parents and guardians, Brenna Legaard and Scott Fournier, et al. v. Providence Health Plan, No. 13-776, D. Ore.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2024%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - The federal judge in New York overseeing the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) antitrust litigation on May 3 granted over-the-counter, bondholder and exchange-based plaintiffs two weeks to move for leave to amend their amended complaints to add allegations of antitrust injury related to their claims that 16 banks manipulated the LIBOR interest rate benchmark (In re: LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, No. 11 MD 2262, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2025%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - Pretrial orders in lawsuits brought by three California plaintiff groups alleging unfair business practices stemming from the lack of temperature compensation in motor fuel pumps may be amended in the interest of efficiency and consistency, the judge presiding over consolidated federal litigation said in a May 6 opinion (In re Motor Fuel Temperature Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 1840, No. 2:07-md-1840 KHV; Lerner v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 2:07-cv-01216-GHK-FMO, C.D. Calif.; Rushing v. Alon USA, Inc., No. 4:06-cv-07621-PJH, N.D. Calif.; Wyatt v. B.P. America Corp., No. 3:07-cv-01754-BTM-JMA, S.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64222). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court must decide whether a state's parens patriae lawsuit may be removed to federal court as a "mass action" under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) because of conflicting rulings in various federal circuit courts, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood argues in petition for writ of certiorari filed with the U.S. high court on Feb. 19 (State of Mississippi, ex rel. Jim Hood, Attorney General v. AU Optronics Corp., et al., No. 12-1036, U.S. Sup.; See 12/6/12, Page 12). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court must rule on whether the citizenship of the individuals on whose behalf monetary relief claims are brought by a state satisfies the Class Action Fairness Act's (CAFA) minimal diversity requirement, AU Optronics Corp. and AU Optronics Corp. America (together, AU Optronics) argue in a reply brief in support of petition for writ of certiorari filed March 5 in the high court (AU Optronics Corporation, et al. v. State of South Carolina, No. 12-911, U.S. Sup.; See 11/2/12, Page 14). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PASADENA, Calif. - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 22 reversed approval of a $45 million settlement of a class action brought under the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA), finding that the class representatives and class counsel did not adequately represent absent class members (Robert Radcliffe, et al. v. Experian Information Solutions Inc., et al., No. 11-56376, Maria L. Borbon, et al. v. Experian Information Solutions Inc., et al., No. 11-56387, Terri N. White, et al. v. Glenda W. Schilleci, et al., No. 11-56389, Terri N. White, et al. v. Charles Juntikka, Esquire, No. 11-56397, Terri N. White, et al. v. Steven C. Signer, No. 11-56400, Robert Radcliffe, et al. v. Walter Ellingwood, No. 11-56440, Terri N. White, et al. v. Marcia Green, et al., No. 11-56482, 9th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7932). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' HONOLULU - A Hawaii federal magistrate judge on April 22 approved a $5.75 million settlement to end a class complaint filed by students and parents of students who attended a Hawaii school for blind and deaf children and claimed that school administrators failed to prevent sexual abuse committed by other students (Jane Doe, et al. v. State of Hawaii, et al., No. 11-550, D. Hawaii). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A California federal magistrate judge on April 26 granted final approval of a $200,000 settlement for a class of assistant store managers seeking compensation for overtime and missed breaks, as well as up to $335,000 to be paid by the employer for attorney fees and costs (Ryan Greko v. Diesel U.S.A., Inc., No. 10-2576, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60114). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN DIEGO - A federal judge in California on April 15 denied a consumer's motion for preliminary approval of a class action settlement, ruling that the consumer failed to properly show how the settlement will benefit the class members (Nicole Newman v. Americredit Financial Services Inc., No. 11-3041, S.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal magistrate judge on April 29 granted final approval of a $4.9 million overtime settlement for KeyBank N.A. employees throughout the country (Eric Beckman, et al. v. KeyBank, N.A., No. 12-7836, S.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60894). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The parties in a wage-and-hour suit finally had their collective action settlement agreement approved April 17 after filing nearly the same agreement four times and having it rejected the first three times by a Kansas federal judge; however, the judge reduced the amount of attorney fees sought by more than three-fourths (Wayne Gambrell, et al. v. Weber Carpet, Inc., et al., No. 10-2131, D. Kan.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54103). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal judge on April 30 granted preliminary approval of a $15,625,000 overtime settlement for HSBC Bank USA N.A., HSBC USA Inc. and HSBC North America Holdings Inc. (together, HSBC) personal bankers, branch relationship bankers, premier relationship managers, small business specialists and business banking specialists (Sharon Yuzary, et al. v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., et al., No. 12-3693, S.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3693). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - Fifth Third Bancorp and a number of other defendants agreed to pay $16 million to settle claims that Fifth Third misrepresented its involvement in the subprime securities market in violation of federal securities laws, according to documents filed April 16 in Ohio federal court (The Eshe Fund v. Fifth Third Bancorp, No. 08-0421, S.D. Ohio). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2011%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The federal judge in California overseeing the film transistor-liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) antitrust litigation on April 1 in an amended order granted final approval to a $571 million settlement between plaintiffs indirect purchasers and eight states and defendants Toshiba Corp., AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) and LG Display Co. Ltd. on claims that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy with other manufacturers to raise and fix the price of TFT-LCD panels (In re: TFT-LCD $(Flat Panel$) Antitrust Litigation $(All Indirect-Purchaser Plaintiff Class Actions$), MDL No. 3:07-md-1827 SI, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49885). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2012%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LAS VEGAS - A federal judge in Nevada on April 10 ruled that a debt collector's Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 offer of judgment in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuit does not moot the lawsuit in relation to class certification (Michael Schmidt v. Red Rock Financial Services LLC, No. 12-1773, D. Nev.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51587). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2013%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SANTA ANA, Calif. - A California federal judge on April 19 provisionally certified a class complaint challenging the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and alleging that it prevents homosexual immigrants from receiving certain immigration benefits available to immigrants in heterosexual marriages (Martin R. Aranas, et al. v. Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, et al., No. 12-1137, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2014%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A Washington federal judge on April 17 denied certification of a class of Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC employees who claim that they are owed pay for work performed prior to the start of their shifts, finding that too many individual issues exist (Karen Ginsburg, et al. v. Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC, No. 11-1959, W.D. Wash.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55149). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2015%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal judge on April 25 certified a class of tennis umpires who claim that they were improperly misclassified as independent contractors while working the U.S. Open and are owed additional wages (Steven Meyer, et al. v. United States Tennis Association, No. 11-6268, S.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60091). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2016%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A Kansas federal judge on April 23 conditionally certified a class of television producers seeking unpaid straight time and overtime compensation (Melissa Greenstein, et al. v. Meredith Corporation, No. 11-2399, D. Kan.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57861). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2017%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Plaintiffs bringing California unfair competition law (UCL) claims in the "hot fuels" multidistrict litigation adequately allege standing and liability, a Kansas federal judge held April 5 in granting class certification (In Re: Motor Fuel Temperature Sales Practices Litigation, Rushing, et al. v. Alon USA Inc., et al., Lerner, et al. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., et al., Wyatt, et al. v. B.P. Am. Corp., et al., Nos. 07-md-1840, 07-2300, 07-2405, 07-2507, D. Kan.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49424). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2018%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DETROIT - A Michigan appeals panel on April 18 partially affirmed and partially reversed class certification in a suit alleging that a health insurer failed to properly reimburse chiropractors (Michigan Association of Chiropractors, et al. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield, No. 304763, Mich. App.; 2013 Mich. App. LEXIS 721). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2019%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey federal judge on April 15 declined to recuse himself from a case in which health plan participants are suing a health care insurer for using flawed data to calculate the reimbursement rate for out-of-network providers and vacating his decision denying class certification (Darlery Franco v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Co., et al., No. 07-6039, D. N.J.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54867). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2020%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - A California federal magistrate judge on April 22 refused a motion to remand a wage-and-hour class complaint to state court, finding that the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million because the claims for penalties the plaintiffs seek under the Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) must be fully included (Mayra Quintana, et al. v. Claire's Stores, Inc., et al., No. 13-368, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58289). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2021%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania federal judge on April 26 said that state plaintiffs who filed a state court medical monitoring class action against C.R. Bard Inc. for allegedly defective inferior vena cava (IVC) filters have suffered an injury-in-fact and that the federal court has jurisdiction (Goldie Brown, et al. v. C.R. Bard, Inc., et al., No. 12-5324, E.D. Pa.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2022%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Chinese vitamin C manufacturers on April 11 moved to reduce by $22.5 million a $253.3 million damages award in favor of a direct purchaser class on its allegations that Chinese corporations participated in an illegal cartel to fix prices and limit supply for exports of vitamin C to the United States (In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation $(Animal Science Products, Inc., et al. v. Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., et al.$), No. 06-md-1738, No. 05-cv-0453, E.D. N.Y.; See 4/4/13, Page 33). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2023%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey federal judge on April 15 recused himself from a class action multidistrict litigation case involving a dispute over out-of-network reimbursement rates, saying he had a disqualifying interest in the case (In Re: Aetna UCR Litigation, Master File No. 07-3541, MDL 2020, D. N.J.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54864). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2024%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal judge on May 1 declined to reconsider dismissal of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class complaint, finding that state law bars the action from proceeding in the federal court (Todd C. Bank, et al. v. Independence Energy Group LLC, et al., No. 12-1369, E.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62423). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2025%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey federal judge on April 24 dismissed class claims against one of two rental car companies accused of failing to disclose fees associated with participation in a customer rewards program (Daniel Klein, et al. v. Budget Rent a Car System, Inc., et al., No. 12-7300, D. N.J.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 58403). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2026%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal judge on April 19 dismissed a health care copayment dispute, finding that the plaintiff lacked standing to bring her claims (Marianne Gates v. United Healthcare Insurance Co., et al., No. 11-3487, S.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56619). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2027%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DETROIT - A Michigan appeals panel on April 18 partially affirmed and partially reversed class certification of five classes in a suit alleging that a health insurer failed to properly reimburse chiropractors (Michigan Association of Chiropractors, et al. v. Blue Care Network of Michigan Inc., No. 304783, Mich. App.; 2013 Mich. App. LEXIS 724). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2028%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A retail employer must turn over employee records to a class plaintiff alleging that her former employer violated the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act (WPCA) when it failed to pay her wages within 72 hours of her termination, a West Virginia federal judge ruled April 25 (Stephanie N. Paulino, et al. v. Dollar General Corporation, et al., No. 12-75, N.D. W.Va.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59371). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2029%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DES MOINES, Iowa - The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed a class complaint on April 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa on behalf of members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., alleging that their constitutional rights have been violated by law enforcement officials seeking to enforce an old law barring the desecration of the U.S. flag (Margie J. Phelps, et al. v. Red Oak Police Chief Drew Powers, et al., No. 13-11, S.D. Iowa). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2030%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN DIEGO - Kashi Co. misrepresents the sugar in its products as "evaporated cane juice syrup" or "evaporated cane juice" in an attempt to appear healthier, a woman alleges in an April 15 California unfair competition law (UCL) class action (Nadine Saubers, et al. v. Kashi Co., No. 12-899, S.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2031%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - An Arkansas resident filed a class action lawsuit on March 21 in an Arkansas federal court, alleging that agreements between Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and its licensees divide and allocate health insurance markets throughout the United States in violation of the Sherman Act (Linda L. Mills v. Usable Mutual Insurance Co., et al., No. 13-165, E.D. Ark.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Individual and collective claims by the sole named plaintiff in a wage-and-hour collective action were rendered moot once her employer offered judgment in an amount that represented alleged unpaid wages plus attorney fees, costs and expenses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68, a split U.S. Supreme Court ruled April 16 (Genesis HealthCare Corp., et al. v. Laura Symczyk, No. 11-1059, U.S. Sup.; 2013 U.S. LEXIS 3157; See 12/6/12, Page 7). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on April 15 denied a petition for writ of certiorari filed by GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), leaving stand a decision allowing a Medicare Advantage provider to seek reimbursement from GSK under Medicare law for the costs of treating insurance customers who were injured by GSK's Avandia diabetes drug (GlaxoSmithKline, et al. v. Humana Medical Plans, et al., No. 12-690, U.S. Sup.; 2013 U.S. LEXIS 2969). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 12 vacated the class certification order in a lawsuit over the education provided to disabled children within the District of Columbia in light of the ruling in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes (131 S. Ct. 2541, 2551 $(2011$); See 6/22/11, Page 4) and remanded for reconsideration of whether a class, classes or subclasses may be certified (DL, et al. v. District of Columbia, A Municipal Corporation, et al., No. 11-7153, D.C. Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7375). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' HELENA, Ark. - An Arkansas federal judge on April 3 denied motions for class certification and an amended complaint in a lawsuit filed by an Arkansas woman alleging that her former insurance provider failed to provide the full coverage contained in her policy following her hospital stay (Brenda Kennedy, et al. v. United American Insurance Co., No. 11-131, E.D. Ark.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48197). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHOENIX - A senior Arizona federal judge on April 4 certified a class of grocery store cashiers claiming that various pay deductions resulted in pay that sometimes was below minimum wage (Jose Pablo Rodriguez Juvera, et al. v. Victor Salcido, et al., No. 11-2119, D. Ariz.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 48867). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - A federal appeals court panel on April 3 affirmed a $142 million verdict against Pfizer Inc. for off-label marketing of Neurontin to a third-party payer, vacated summary judgment against another four other third-party payers and vacated denial of class certification for three of the payers (In Re Neurontin Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., et al. v. Pfizer, Inc., et al., Nos. 11-1904 and 11-2096, 1st Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 6793; In Re Neurontin Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Aetna, Inc., v. Pfizer, Inc., et al., No. 11-1595, 1st Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 6793; In Re Neurontin Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Harden Manufacturing Corporation, et al. v. Pfizer, Inc., et al., No. 11-1806, 1st Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 6797). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - A federal judge in California on April 5 denied certification of two proposed classes of employees of seven high-tech companies on the employees' allegations that the defendants conspired to fix and suppress employee compensation and to restrict employee mobility by entering into agreements not to compete for each other's employees (In re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, No. 11-CV-02509, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49784). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN ANTONIO - A Texas federal judge on April 8 agreed to partially certify a class of security guards seeking unpaid overtime wages they allege they were denied when they were improperly classified as contract workers instead of employees (Cesar V. Gonzalez v. Tier One Security, Inc., No. 12-806, W.D. Texas; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 50602). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The District of Columbia Superior Court, Civil Division, on April 8 denied class certification to a group of parents and children seeking damages from the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority for lack of notification that their unfiltered tap water was contaminated with elevated levels of lead (John Parkhurst, et al. v. D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, No. 2009CA000971B, D.C. Super., Civil Div.; 2013 D.C. Super. LEXIS 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - The First District Illinois Appellate Court, First Division, on March 29 said it lacked jurisdiction to determine whether a trial court was correct in decertifying a lead exposure class action against lead industry defendants because the class plaintiffs cannot rely upon the Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Act to assert a causative link between the manufacture of lead-based paint and the plaintiffs' injuries (Mary Lewis, et al., v. NL Industries Inc., et al., No. 1-12-2080, Ill. App., 1st Dist., 1st Div.; 2013 Ill. App. LEXIS 187). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2011%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RICHMOND, Va. - A Maryland school district's temporary employees are not members of the bargaining unit and are not entitled to any part of an arbitrator's award to the union that represents the bargaining unit, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled April 11, affirming the dismissal of the workers' class complaint (Larry C. Mayo, et al. v. Board of Education of Prince George's County, et al., Nos. 11-1816 and 11-2037, 4th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7321). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2012%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MIAMI - The Florida Supreme Court on April 11 found that a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement signed by check-cashing customers is valid and enforceable, overruling a lower court's decision (McKenzie Check Advance of Florida LLC, et al. v. Wendy Betts, et al., No. SC11-514, Fla. Sup.; 2013 Fla. LEXIS 671). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2013%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FLINT, Mich. - A Michigan federal judge on April 12 granted a motion to compel arbitration in a class wage dispute, finding that the employment agreement signed by the lead plaintiff was binding (Andrew Ramirez, et al. v. Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC, No. 12-14480, E.D. Mich.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 52588). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2014%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PITTSBURGH - A former fast food chain employee filed an amended disability bias complaint April 12 bringing only individual claims, after her class claims were rejected earlier that day by a Pennsylvania federal judge even before the plaintiff filed a motion for class certification (Patricia Semenko v. Wendy's International, Inc., No. 12-836, W.D. Pa.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52582). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2015%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - A prior putative class action against a membership program preserved the right of the plaintiffs in the present multidistrict litigation to proceed with their claims challenging the same program's sales and marketing practices, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled April 16 (In re: Vertrue Inc. Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, No. 10-3928, 6th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7693). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2016%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' STANFORD, Calif. - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 12 reinstated a class claim seeking compensation for the time warehouse employees spend at the end of each shift passing through a security check (Jesse Busk, et al. v. Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., No. 11-16892, 9th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7397). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2017%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A cable company line technician's class overtime claim under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA) was dismissed the second time in an April 11 opinion filed by an Illinois federal magistrate judge, who opined that such a claim was permissible only under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) (James Brand, et al. v. Comcast Corporation, et al., No. 12-1122, N.D. Ill.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52098). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2018%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - An Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 9 dismissed a class complaint accusing West Publishing Corp. of various federal violations in connection with the sale of motor vehicle records (Marcy A. Johnson, et al. v. West Publishing Corporation, No. 12-1172, 8th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7110). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2019%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The District of Columbia Minimum Wage Act (DCMWA) provides the exclusive remedy for a university employee seeking unpaid overtime, a District of Columbia federal judge ruled April 5, dismissing the employee's claim under the District of Columbia Wage Payment and Collection Law (DCWPCL) and denying the plaintiff's motion for class certification of that claim as moot (David M. Driscoll, et al. v. George Washington University, No. 12-690, D.C. Cir.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49326). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2020%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - An Arkansas lawyer may pursue most of his California unfair competition law (UCL) action based on his alleged reliance on Google Inc.'s advertising pricing and placement policies, a federal judge held April 9 (Rick Woods, et al. v. Google Inc., No. 5:11-cv-01263, N.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120748). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2021%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - While one of two plaintiffs has standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, their California unfair competition law (UCL) claims over the alleged mislabeling of food products lack specificity, a federal judge held April 9 (Karen Thomas and Lisa Liddle, et al. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 12-2908, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51189). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2022%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - A woman's use of the phrase "misbranded food products" in her California unfair competition law (UCL) action falls short of the heightened standard for fraud allegations, a federal judge held April 9 (Amy Maxwell, et al. v. Unilever United States Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership, No. 12-1736, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51195). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2023%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A federal judge in New York on March 29 dismissed claims by participants in Pfizer Inc.'s retirement savings plans that the plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, finding that the participants failed to demonstrate that the plans' investment in company stock when the stock price was inflated was an abuse of discretion (In re Pfizer Inc. ERISA Litigation, No. 04 Civ. 10071, S.D. N.Y.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45868). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2024%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - Relying heavily on In re iPhone Application Litigation (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106865 $(N.D. Calif. 2011$)), a California federal judge on March 26 mostly dismissed a class action accusing Google Inc. of privacy, fraud and related violations from its Android operating system (AOS) for mobile devices (In Re Google Android Consumer Privacy Litigation, No. 3:11-md-00264, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42724). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2025%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - Because Yahoo! Inc. complied with two grand jury subpoenas in good faith when it supplied the government with subscriber information, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 15 found that the digital media company was immune from lawsuit from the subject of the subpoenas under the provisions of the Stored Communications Act (SCA) (Fayelynn Sams v. Yahoo! Inc., No. 11-16938, 9th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7464). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2026%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - Three airline travelers have failed to show that "there has been a substantial foreclosure of competition in the relevant market" of providers of Internet connectivity on domestic commercial aircraft, a California federal judge found April 10, granting a motion to dismiss by Gogo Inc. (James Stewart, et al. v. Gogo Inc., No. 3:12-cv-05164, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51895). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2027%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - Countrywide Financial Corp. will pay $500 million to shareholders in three related securities class action lawsuits to settle claims that it misrepresented the investment quality of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in what is being called the largest-ever MBS class action recovery under the Securities Act of 1933, according to a press release issued by class counsel on April 17 (David H. Luther v. Countrywide Financial Corp., No. 12-5125; Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan v. Countrywide Financial Corp., No. 12-5122; and Maine State Retirement System v. Countrywide Financial Corp., No. 10-0302, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2028%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Shareholders and Citigroup Inc. and other defendants in a securities class action lawsuit alleging that the defendants misrepresented the investment quality of stock offerings in violation of federal securities law have agreed to settle their claims for $730 million, according to court documents filed in a New York federal court on March 18 (In re Citigroup Inc. Bond Litigation, No. 08-9522, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2029%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BROOKLYN, N.Y. - A New York federal judge on April 8 certified a $15 million refund class settlement for consumers who purchased Bayer Aspirin with Heart Advantage and Bayer Women's Low Dose Aspirin + Calcium but denied approval of a cy pres distribution of any unused funds to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Foundation and ordered the plaintiffs to come up with a new recipient in two days (In Re: Bayer Combination Aspirin Products Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, No. 09-md-2023, E.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2030%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - Nobel Biocare Holding AG has agreed to settle a class action with American dentists who claim that they were financially harmed when a dental implant failed sooner than warranted, according to an April 15 motion for preliminary approval filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Jason Yamada, D.D.S., et al. v. Nobel Biocare Holding AG, et al., No. 10-4849, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2031%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DETROIT - A health insurer arbitrarily and capriciously denied coverage for applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy for autism based on the plan's exclusion for experimental treatment under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a federal judge in Michigan ruled March 30 (Michael Potter v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, No. 10-14981, E.D. Mich.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2032%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A health plan administrator did not breach its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to modify its coverage certificates to reflect a court order that it provide mental health treatment because the administrator informed its members of the changes to its coverages of neurodevelopmental therapy mandated by the court's order, a federal judge in Washington ruled April 8 (Z.D., et al. v. Group Health Cooperative, et al., No. 2:11-cv-01119, W.D. Wash.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50402). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2033%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN DIEGO - A federal judge in California on April 10 excluded some plaintiff expert testimony and granted summary judgment to Bayer defendants in a class action alleging that the companies made false and deceptive advertising claims regarding the prostate health benefits of its men's vitamins (David Johns and Marc Bordman v. Bayer Corp., et al., No. 09cv1935 AJB $(DHB$), S.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51823). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2034%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' COLUMBUS, Ohio - A protective order is not warranted in a nurse's class overtime suit, an Ohio federal judge ruled April 4, overruling a magistrate judge's opinion and order issued earlier this year (Dawn Snelling v. ATC Healthcare Services Inc., et al., No. 11-983, S.D. Ohio; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49105). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2035%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW HAVEN, Conn. - A collective suit seeking unpaid overtime filed by home health clinicians may not be transferred to the state when the workers' former employer is headquartered or dismissed, a senior Connecticut federal judge ruled April 8 (Julie Cook, et al. v. Amedisys, Inc., No. 12-1082, D. Conn.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50136). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2036%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LAFAYETTE, La. - A Louisiana federal judge on April 4 granted a motion to remand in a class action health care reimbursement case, saying that one of the defendants was not fraudulently joined and that the plaintiffs met an exception to the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) (Opelousas General Trust Authority v. Multiplan Inc., et al., No. 12-1830, W.D. La.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49824). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2037%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - Class action lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging violations of consumer protection statutes and seeking damages in torts were transferred April 9 to the Western District of Pennsylvania where similar class actions alleging similar claims were filed in July 2012 (Mary Emily Funke v. Del Monte Corp., No. 12-5323, N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51263). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2038%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN DIEGO - The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a transfer and centralization order on April 8, creating a multidistrict litigation for personal injuries and wrongful death in the Southern District Ohio filed for exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid released from the DuPont Washington Works chemical refinery near Parkersburg, W.Va. (In re DuPont C8 Personal Injury Litigation, MDL 2433, JPMDL; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52569). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2039%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A board-certified orthopedic surgeon who practiced in Alabama until recently filed a class action lawsuit on April 4 in an Alabama federal court, alleging that agreements between Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and its licensees divide and allocate health insurance markets throughout the United States in violation of the Sherman Act (Gilbert Reid Melson II v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, et al., No. 13-625, N.D. Ala.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=13-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Class%20Actions%2040%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' By Michael Mallow and Livia Kiser I. Comcast v. Behrend: The Class Action Mechanism Under Scrutiny Comcast v. Behrend is the latest opinion issued by the U.S. Supreme Court interpreting and applying the procedural rules governing class actions set out in Federal Rule Civil Procedure 23. Writing for a 5-4 majority, Justice Antonin Scalia tags the class action mechanism as an "exception to the usual rule that litigation is conducted by and on behalf of the individual named parties," which should only be utilized when circumstances clearly warrant its application.1