A special section of our site dedicated to class actions, collective actions, and impact litigation. Featuring selected court cases, news stories, firms, case websites, and cy pres awards.
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In the Courts
In the News Featured Firms Case Websites Cy Pres Awards |
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In the Courts
Gene & Gene LLC v. Biopay LLC
5th Circuit Court of Appeals | Decision Date: August 14, 2008
Order certifying a class of plaintiffs who alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. section 227, specifically unsolicited advertisements sent from one fax machine to another, is reversed where: 1) there was subject-matter jurisdiction over the case under the Class Action Fairness Act; and 2) plaintiffs had failed to advance any viable theory employing generalized, class-wide proof concerning the issue of lack of consent. Read the decision.
Abner v. Kansas City S. Ry. Co.
5th Circuit Court of Appeals | Decision Date: August 14, 2008
In employees' race discrimination suit, award of plaintiffs' attorney's fees and costs for an initial trial which ended in a hung jury is affirmed where a court may award reasonable fees, including those incurred in a first, inconclusive trial, and in doing so may: 1) cut out fees charged for work on unsuccessful claims and any other unreasonable work; and 2) look to the ultimate result of the case, especially as to the significant issues litigated, and the overall relief obtained. Read the decision.
In the News
Merrill Discrimination Suit Moves Forward After Failed Settlement Talks
Balestriere PLLC Files Class Action Complaint Against NASD
On Wall Street, a Question of Bias
Davis v. Kraft Foods Memorandum & Order
Galeno v. Blockbuster, Inc.
Denial of motion to remand a class action -- involving disgruntled customers of Blockbuster alleging that the "no late fee" program is a decptive forced sale scheme -- to state court is vacated as the district court made no findings and offered no explanation as to how it calculated the amount in controversy here to be more than $5 million, the jurisdictional amount. [Sign in required.] Read the full story.
Order Granting Class Certification
Citigroup gender bias case wins final approval
A federal judge on Wednesday granted final approval to Citigroup Inc's $33 million settlement to resolve a gender bias lawsuit brought by female brokers at its Smith Barney unit, court records show. Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco signed off on the settlement at a hearing Wednesday morning, after granting preliminary approval in April. Read the full story.
Apple sued for indentured servitude
A lawsuit filed Monday in California seeks class action status alleging that Apple denied technical staffers required overtime pay and meal compensation in violation of state law. Filed in the US District Court for Southern California, the complaint claims that many Apple employees are routinely subjected to working conditions resembling indentured servitude. Read the full story.
Dallas telemarketer accused of bias
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Paramount Multiservices Inc. and Paramount Teleservices LLC Tuesday, alleging sex discrimination. The EEOC's suit alleges that former employee Amy Tucker and other women were discriminated against and worked in a hostile environment. Read the full story.
Judge grants class-action status to U-46 bias suit
A federal judge has granted class-action status to a racial bias lawsuit filed 3 years ago against Illinois' second largest school district. In a Friday filing, Federal Judge Robert W. Gettleman ruled that two groups of Elgin Area School District U-46 students could receive future remedies if they prevail in the lawsuit. Read the full story.
Fair Labor Standards Act: What IT Workers Need to Know
The class-action lawsuit that a former Apple network engineer filed last Monday has put tech workers' relationship with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) into the spotlight. Many IT pros are watching the case with interest since it boils down to a pocketbook issue: compensation for overtime. At issue: are networking professionals-network engineers, network administrators and network support staff-covered by the FLSA? Read the full story.
Featured Firms
Mehri & Skalet believes that powerful institutions and corporations are not above the law and must be held accountable for their actions. This belief inspires our work and informs our practice. Whether the target is deceptive sales practices or unfair employment practices, M&S uses the legal system to correct the imbalance of power that often favors big business over private citizens. In cases ranging in focus from consumer protection to civil rights to corporate fraud, we are tenacious, creative and public-spirited in our approach to legal work. Visit our website at www.findjustice.com.
Visit our website at www.outtengolden.com/.
Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a sixty-plus attorney law firm that has represented plaintiffs nationwide since 1972. We have offices in San Francisco, New York, Beverly Hills and Nashville. Lieff Cabraser has a comprehensive and diverse practice that is unique among law firms that represent only plaintiffs. Our cases typically involve dangerous or defective products, securities and investment fraud, consumer fraud and false advertising, employment discrimination and unlawful employment practices, aviation disasters, environmental damage and toxic exposures, antitrust and ERISA violations and the abuse of human and civil rights. Visit our website at www.lieffcabraser.com.
Case Websites
Gender Lawsuit Against Smith Barney
http://www.genderlawsuitagainstsmithbarney.com/index.htm
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/images/david_walsh_vs_apple_1.pdf
Fourth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report
The fourth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report by national law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP analyzes the leading class action and collective action decisions of 2007 involving claims against employers. The class action rulings stem from high-stakes lawsuits filed in federal courts under Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and in state courts under a host of other laws applicable to workplace issues.
Cy Pres Awards
Martin v. Grange Mutual Insurance Co. (Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A.)
Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A., and Grange Insurance announce that an unclaimed portion of a consumer class action lawsuit has been donated to Workplace Fairness, a national organization educating workers about their legal rights. The 1994 consumer class action suit [Martin v. Grange Mutual Insurance Co.] alleged that consumers were incorrectly charged for uninsured motorist insurance.
Kosen v. American Express Financial Advisors (Miller-O'Brien, LLP; Sprenger & Lang, PLLC)
In this gender discrimination class action suit, female financial advisors alleged that male advisors received preferential treatment in assignments and promotions. After distribution of the settlement fund, the unclaimed amount of $191,000 was distributed to three charities, including Workplace Fairness, to further employment opportunities for women and to protect their rights in the workplace.
FLSA Overtime Case (Nichols, Kastor & Anderson)
In an FLSA overtime collective action which settled for $6 million, a separate $25,000 contingent fund was created to settle cases not part of the collective action. The terms of the contingent fund settlement allowed the leftover funds to be granted to a 501(c)(3) organization of the plaintiff counsel's choosing. As a result, $20,000 was donated to Workplace Fairness at the conclusion of the case, as directed by Nichols, Kaster and Anderson.
