Ninth Circuit Addresses FCRA Standing Analysis and Emphasizes Importance of Remedial Measures
- The Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion addressing standing and willfulness under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In Ramirez v. TransUnion ,[1] the Ninth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict and punitive damages award, although it reduced those damages by a third. The court... ›
Ninth Circuit Holds Plaintiffs Not Entitled To Equitable Restitution Under UCL/CLRA If Adequate Remedy At Law Is Available
Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit held that state law cannot expand or confine a federal court’s power to issue equitable restitution because federal courts are bound by traditional equitable principles, which require, among other things, a showing of an inadequate remedy at law.... ›Class Action Litigation in the Wake of COVID-19
By: Tiffany Cheung and Michael Burshteyn
Class action claims have taken on a new twist in the wake of COVID-19. Already, the global pandemic has generated litigation across a broad swath of areas, including privacy, data security, and consumer, among others. To date, hundreds of business lawsuits related to the... ›Ninth Circuit Provides Guidance on Pre-certification Discovery
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit held that plaintiffs cannot avail themselves of liberal discovery rules in order to locate class representatives. The court found that Rule 26(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which governs the discovery process, does not authorize discovery... ›Ninth Circuit Weighs In on Standing Requirements for Privacy Claims and Approval of Injunctive Relief-Only Class Settlements
Courts scrutinize class action settlements to ensure they result from arms-length negotiations and are fair and reasonable to absent class members. Applying that standard to a nationwide settlement of a privacy lawsuit against Facebook, on March 3, 2020, the Ninth Circuit provided a helpful... ›- - 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... › Lead Plaintiff Spreads Her Misleading Butter Case a Little Too Thin
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
In April, a New York federal court denied certification for a purported class alleging that Johnson & Johnson misled customers by placing the words “no trans fat” on labels for its Benecol buttery spreads. See Bowling v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. , 1:17-cv-03892,... ›Mixed Results on Class Certification for “Cereal” Plaintiff
In Hadley v. Kellogg Sales Company , Plaintiff Stephen Hadley, who has filed at least two additional lawsuits alleging the mislabeling of breakfast foods, sought certification of four California subclasses of purchasers of Kellogg’s cereal and cereal bar products. On August 17, 2018, Judge... ›Update: Ninth Circuit to Review Hyundai Pro-Defense Decision
On July 27, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued an order granting en banc review of its decision in Hyundai and Kia Fuel Econ. Litig. , No. 15-56067, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 1626 (Jan. 23, 2018). The Ninth Circuit also set oral argument for the... ›Website User Held to Arbitration Provision Despite Renewing Subscription in Wife’s Name
On July 19, 2018, United States Magistrate Judge Mark Lane issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that United States District Judge Robert Pitman for the Western District of Texas grant a motion to compel arbitration and dismiss a putative class action on the grounds... ›