Class Action

Slow Start To New Class Action Filings In 2010 But Labor Law Class Action Lawsuits Begin Year At Top Spot Among Weekly Class Action Lawsuits Filed In California State And Federal Courts

By Michael J. Hassen

In order to assist class action defense attorneys anticipate the types of cases against which they will have to defend in California, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe. This report covers the time period from December 31, 2009 - January 7, 2010, during which time 35 -- a relatively small number of new class action cases -- were filed in these California state and federal courts. Labor law class actions generally top this list by a wide margin, frequently accounting for more than half of the total number of new class action lawsuits filed. During this reporting period, there were only 15 new class actions alleging employment-related claims, representing only 43% of the total number of new class actions filed. The only other categories to break the 10% threshold involved class actions alleging violations of California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL), which includes false advertising claims, with 9 new class action lawsuits (26% of the new class actions filed during the reporting period), and class actions alleging violations of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), with 4 new class actions (11% of the new class actions filed).

Full post as published by Class Action Defense Blog on January 09, 2010 (boomark / email).