Start Your Engines: The U.S. Supreme Court Will Yet Again Review the Constitutional Limits of Personal Jurisdiction in a Pair of Cases Involving Ford Motor Company
- Lower courts’ inability or refusal to confine cases to their proper fora compels the Supreme Court to spend precious docket space restating the rules governing personal jurisdiction. The Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments limit courts’ authority to exercise personal jurisdiction... ›
- - Appellate & Supreme Court, Class Certification, Product Liability, Consumer Products, Class Action
Ninth Circuit’s En Banc Hyundai Decision: Less Strict Standard For Settlement Classes
By: Penelope A. Preovolos
On June 7, 2019, an en banc Ninth Circuit panel affirmed certification of a nationwide settlement class and held, 8-3, that class certification criteria are applied less strictly in a settlement context.[1] Hyundai II preserves the ability to certify nationwide settlement classes while maintaining... › Supreme Court Decides Prescription Drug Preemption Case in Favor of Drug Manufacturer
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
The United States Supreme Court finally clarified its 11-year-old “clear evidence” standard for pharmaceutical preemption. In its much-anticipated opinion delivered by Justice Breyer, the Court unanimously reversed the Third Circuit’s holding that questions of pharmaceutical preemption should be decided by juries. Merck Sharp &... ›Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela: The Supreme Court Clarifies that Clear Consent is Necessary for Class Arbitration
By: Adam J. Hunt
The Supreme Court’s decision in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela made it clear that an arbitration agreement must explicitly contemplate and provide for class arbitration, building on a line of pro-arbitration rulings from the Supreme Court over the past decade, including American Express Co.... ›U.S. Supreme Court to Review Deference to the FCC in TCPA Cases
By: Tiffany Cheung
Does the Hobbs Act require district courts to accept the Federal Communications Commission’s legal interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act? That is the question the United States Supreme Court will consider in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic Inc. , Docket... ›BREAKING: Appellate Court Halts Trial on Coffee
On Friday, October 12, 2018, California’s Second Appellate District Court stayed the trial that was set to begin on Monday, October 15, 2018, in Los Angeles Superior Court, regarding whether cancer warnings are required for sales of coffee in California. The trial in Council... ›Update: Ninth Circuit Softens Its Decision In Flushable Wipes Case
On May 9, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued an Opinion amending its previous decision in Davidson v. Kimberly-Clark Corp. , 873 F.3d 1103 (9th Cir. 2017). As we noted in our December 4, 2017 post on the 2017 decision, the Ninth Circuit had held... ›Will High Court Provide Clarity On ‘Clear Evidence’?
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
The U.S. Supreme Court may soon revisit one of its seminal decisions defining products liability law for pharmaceutical manufacturers. That decision — Wyeth v. Levine — addressed whether a branded manufacturer could be held liable for state-law failure-to-warn claims even though federal law regulates... ›Second Time Is Not the Charm: Judge Koh Slams Plaintiff’s Second Bid for Class Certification in Baby Food Case
On remand from the Ninth Circuit, Judge Koh nixed a plaintiff’s second attempt to certify a nationwide class of Gerber’s baby food purchasers. Her decision is notable for two reasons. First, in denying plaintiff’s Rule 23(b)(2) injunctive relief class based on changes to Gerber’s... ›California Appellate Court Upholds Denial of Class Certification on Ascertainability Grounds
On December 4, 2017, a panel of the California Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed a trial court’s denial of class certification for alleged violations of California’s unfair competition, consumer protection, and false advertising laws. In so doing, the court upheld the lower court’s conclusions... ›